No, It's Not Right
by Kae-sama
Summary: [complete] Kag&San were 2 friends born in a world where demons ruled and humans were their servants. At their new home, they both find love, but they also find dark secrets hidden in their past. Can 4 friends work together to bring demons and humans back
1. The Purchase

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my slippers and pj's

Hey y'all, my first fic, trying something new here! Hope ya like.

Chapter 1-The Purchase

It was their first auction. The fist time they were shoved in a glass box that held their prices in the upper right hand corner. The two young girls stood in line, waiting their turn. Kagome looked to her friend for comfort. The elder girl smiled and grasped the younger girl's hand.

"It'll be ok. We'll get out of this hell-hole together. Together, like always." Sango smiled at her friend, hoping to reassure her.

"We may get out of this one, but only to be thrown into another." Kagome retaliated.

Their first master had been kind to them. They were both born into his home and raised there. But he died suddenly 2 years ago after a heart attack. The two girls, along with the other servants, were taken to a facility. A facility where demons purchased humans to be used as servants. After demons realized they could overpower the human race, they did just that. Now, there is no human who knows of a life before demon rulers.

The two girls were grabbed roughly by the shoulder and led to a box.

"All ya do is stand there an' look pretty, got it?" They both nodded their heads in reply. Kagome squeezed her friend's hand as they stepped into the thick, glass 'cage.' They looked on as demons passed them by. Some stopped to look at them; others walked on by without even a glance.

"There's so many of them." Kagome muttered in awe.

-----

"And why are we here again?" Inuyasha made his way through the crowd with his older brother.

"Miroku suggested we have some woman servants to keep the house clean, since neither he nor Hojo do." Sesshomaru smoothly replied before stopping in front of a cage with two young girls.

"You're taking advice from our COOK!" The younger spat out in disgust. He then looked at the two servants for sale in front of him and his brother.

"He has a point though...These two are a bargain, what do you think?" Sesshomaru questioned his seemingly uninterested brother.

"Take 'em, I don't care! I just wanna get outa here." Was his reply. Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha, then turned to a man by the cage to purchase them.

"It's a good buy my Lord. These two have had years of experience, despite their ages." The demon opened the door to grab the girls out.

"All right, this one here's Sango, she's 16 with 14 years behind her as a servant." The man said, thrusting her forward. Sesshomaru circled her. She was in good shape, strong, and slender. Her chocolate colored hair held high in a ponytail reached just below her shoulder. Her brown eyes watched him intensely. He nodded in approval and looked to the man again.

"And this one's Kagome. A year younger, and a year less of being a servant." She walked up, not wanting the same treatment as her friend received. The Lord could tell she was also healthy, not as muscular, but her strong spirit shone through her rich, brown eyes. Her mid-length raven hair slid over her shoulders as she turned to her friend.

"Can we go now that we got 'em?" Inuyasha asked his brother, irritation sewn through his voice. The elder turned to him.

"Get them, and we'll leave." Sesshomaru replied with a slight edge in his voice. 'Finally!' Inuyasha thought. He pushed Sango forward and grabbed Kagome by the wrist. They reached the car and Sesshomaru said, "I have business to attain to, take them home, show them around and what-not. I'll be back by dinner." With that, he turned and walked down the street, eventually lost from sight.

The three got in the car and Inuyasha grumbled, "Damn bastard, running off like that! Just who the hell does he think he is?"

The young driver turned to him. "Oh, Inuyasha, that's just the way he is! I see you got two new servants? Hello, I'm Hojo!" He said, turning to the girls. They both just stared, thinking the same thing. 'Should we reply? Can we talk?' They were all silent the rest of the way home. Well, except for Hojo-he just kept talking...and talking...Until they finally reached the mansion. Kagome and Sango both stared up in awe. Then followed their young master inside. The two girls stared up at the high ceiling, but were shortly brought back to reality as they both felt...a hand...where neither of them wanted on to be. They both swung around to see a handsome young man with a smile on his face.

"Ladies, welcome! I'm Miroku, the cook. Nice to meet both of you. Inuyasha, you picked them well, they are both quite beautiful." The young man said. His violet eyes twinkled and he gave a grin that would make any girl buckle at the knees.

"Snap out of it pervert," Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's wrist and nodded at Sango. "Show her around, I'll give this one a tour."

Miroku held out his hand, "Shall we?" he asked Sango. His answer, a cold glare that even the great Lord himself couldn't compete with.

"So, it was Kagome, right?" Inuyasha questioned as he led her up the grand stairway to the second floor.

"Yes" was her simple reply. He turned to her when they reached the top of the stairs.

"Well, I'm Inuyasha, and my brother's the Lord of the Western Lands. It was just the four of us guys here, but that lecherous cook suggested we get women servants to clean and serve. So, you'll be serving and cleaning the second floor rooms. Sesshomaru's only here for dinner really, so you'll serve us there. I though, require cereal in the morning." He led her down a hall and opened a door. "You'll bring it here to my room every morning."

"Yes sir." Again, was her simple reply. Inuyasha stared at her for a moment. She could feel his golden eyes baring into her. She looked up into the molten orbs. "Is...is something the matter?" She asked quietly. Averting her eyes to her feet quickly.

"You two don't talk much...probably the most boring things in this place." Inuyasha said, hoping to set off a spark.

Her head shot up, and anger flashed through her eyes. 'Bingo.' Inuyasha smirked. "We were raised in an open home, but at the facility we learned to stay quiet. Some masters like their servants mute." Kagome said, and edge of anger to her voice.

"And some don't." Was Inuyasha's response. Kagome eyed him, wondering if she should say something.

"Which are you?" She asked, putting aside the 'never question master' rule.

"I don't like mute servants. They're creepy." He answered. Then, he sat on his bed, Kagome followed. "I also don't like servants when I don't know anything about them." Kagome raised her eyebrow. He looked at her, waiting for her to talk.

"Are you trying to bond?" She asked while trying to keep a straight face.

"Bond? No, not 'bond.' Miroku's doing the same to your friend. We're just making sure you girls can handle the job." Kagome nodded her head understandingly.

"My name's Kagome, I'm 15. I was born in a demon home and worked for my master until I was 13. That's when he died of a heart attack. Sango and I were sent to the facility. They 'trained' us, then sold us to you. That's about it." She finished, looking to her silver-haired master. He sat there for a moment to absorb what she said, then looked at his watch. "Time to eat, tell me more later, ok?" She nodded and followed him down to the kitchen.

Ok, that's it...Tell me if you like it by leaving a REVIEW! Please! I'll post the 2nd chapter as soon as I can, and trust me, it's a bit more interesting. I hope this is long enough. I had no idea how long it would actually appear when I typed it!


	2. When Showers Go Wrong

Disclaimer: Ok, maybe I own more than slippers and pj's...but whatever it is, it's not Inu-boy and the gang

a/n-Ok, I got one review, which is more than I was expecting! So thank you Kawaii Rin, I'm glad someone like it! Hopefully this chappie will make you giggle, I have fun putting them in...strange situations.

Chapter 2-When Showers Go Wrong

Inuyasha walked Kagome to the kitchen. There, they found the food prepared, along with the cook who had a red hand print on his face, Sango was blushing madly, and Hojo was shaking his head disappointingly.

"Watch out for his hands." Inuyasha bent down and whispered in Kagome's ear. She nodded her head and walked over to her friend.

"What happened, Sango?" Kagome asked.

"What happened? That cook keeps touching me, THAT'S what happened!" She yelled, sending daggers at Miroku, who had the most innocent look on his face.

"Miroku, show Kagome where the dining hall is. She'll be serving us from now on." And with that, Inuyasha walked out. Shortly after, Miroku walked over to a tray and picked it up. He handed it to Kagome and said, "Follow me, please."

As they walked down the hall, Miroku talked about life at the mansion. "You're gonna like it here.  
We're not that bad once you get to know us. We're all like one, big, happy family really. So don't be afraid to speak up." Kagome nodded as she carried the tray. They stopped in front of a large door. "Just go in, set it down, and that's it!" Miroku explained.

"Ok." Kagome replied. She opened the door with one hand, balancing the tray on her hip while holding it with the other. She walked in and set the tray on the table end near Sesshomaru. He nodded for her dismissal. She walked out and shut the door behind her. Turning to Miroku she said, "That was simple."

"Good, you'll be doing it every evening. And in the mornings you'll-"

"Take Inuyasha his cereal. Yea, he told me that." Kagome finished for him. Miroku made an "O" shape with his mouth before saying, "Oh. Then I'll tell you what you're to do for the rest of the day. It's not much really, just keep the library upstairs clean, and pick up after Inuyasha in his room. Sango will be keeping the living room up and doing laundry."

"That's it? Not much at all." Kagome said in shock.

"Yea, well, those are the only rooms that get used." Miroku shrugged and replied. By then, they were walking into the kitchen where Sango and Hojo were playing tic-tac-toe on a scrap of paper.

"I win...again!" Sango yelled victoriously. Hojo pouted then looked up at Miroku and Kagome.

"Hojo, show the ladies their rooms, so you don't suffer the loss of your pride." Miroku said sarcastically.

"Ok!" Hojo responded happily. 'That's boy's too cheery.' Miroku thought as he watched Hojo lead the girls out of the kitchen.

"This will be your room Sango." Hojo said happily.

It was a good-sized room located between Miroku's and Kagome's. It had a window above the head of the bed. There was a desk that had some paper and a few pencils, and a closet with assorted uniforms and a full-length mirror on its door. Hojo and Kagome left the speechless Sango to stare at her room, and went to the one next to it that was Kagome's. Her room was set up the same way. Kagome stood in her doorway like Sango, and Hojo left to drive the great Lord to some meeting. Sango hopped over to her friend.

"Kagome! We have our own ROOMS!" She squealed. Kagome half smiled with a dazed expression before saying, "Yea...wow."

When they lived at the facility, the two of them shared a brick walled cell. The cell contained two cots. No more, no less. Even with their previous master, they had never had a room to themselves.

Sango, still smiling, tapped Kagome's shoulder to say, "Hey, I'm gonna find the bathroom. We passed it up the hall, but I wanna check it out, you coming?"

"Yea, sure, let's go." Kagome replied, equally as cheerful. The friends made their way up the hall to the bathroom. For a servant's bathroom, it was large. There was a large counter with two sinks. Previously Miroku and Hojo's, now, male and female's. Across from the sink, was a tub and large shower. Set between the two, was a single toilet.

"Oh my gosh." Kagome muttered, walking to the center of the room. She threw her arms up and said, "Look at it!" To them, it was huge. Never had they seen such a single bathroom this size. Ever.

"If you want, Kagome, I can leave and you can bathe?" Sango said, seeing her friend's happiness. Kagome just nodded, still shocked as her friend walked out.

She skipped over to the shower and pulled open the curtain. She started the water as she slipped out of the simple dress she wore. She flung her undergarments go the floor and stepped in, pulling the curtain closed behind her.

'Warm water,' she thought, 'and clean too!' But her thoughts were shortly interrupted when she heard the door open. She assumed that it was Sango.

"Sango, the water's not cold here!" she said, waiting for a response.

"Of course it's not, cold water gets ya sick. And we can't have that." Kagome's eyes widened in shock. That wasn't Sango's voice, it was...She popped her head out, clinging to the curtain and squealed, "What're you doing here!?" Her face red, her eyes flashing with anger, as she looked at Inuyasha, sitting loungily on the edge of the tub with his feet propped up on the toilet. He smirked and raised an eyebrow at the flustered girl.

"I told you earlier I wanted to know more. So, continue." She frowned and jerked the curtain shut again.

"What is it you want to know?" She asked, with and edge to every word.

"What was it like at the facility?" He asked in return.

"Kagome's face grew sullen. "It was...dark, a hard life. We shared cells, and all we had was a hard cot. We worked ever day. Painting signs, or sewing, or even cooking until it was our turn to be auctioned off. We were given two meals a day. They were cold. I hated life there." She finished that last sentence in a sad whisper.

Inuyasha could sense her sadness, but the door opened and Miroku walked in before he could say a word.

"Oh, Inuyasha...why are you here?" He asked, quickly glancing at the clothes on the floor.

"Uhh...Nothing, really." Inuyasha replied nervously.

Miroku raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Well, I was going to shower, but I see that...You...are doing that. Go on, I just need to get some things."

"R-right," Inuyasha stuttered. He grabbed a towel and threw it into the shower. Kagome grabbed it and wrapped it around her.

"S-sure." He again stuttered as he stepped in, clothes and all. 'Gods, I hope he leaves soon.' He thought. But he didn't. 'This'll be fun." Miroku thought.

"So, those new servant girls, whada ya think of 'em?" The cook asked, waiting to see what kind of response his nervous master would give.

"They're good, I like 'em." Inuyasha replied.

"Cute too, eh?"

"Sure, of course."

"And you seem to have an eye for Kagome." Miroku said, putting emphasis on her name.

Inuyasha glanced down at the blushing girl, who was equally as red as he was.

"Well, I have things to do. Later!" Miroku left with that. He shut the door and chuckled.

"Have you seen Kagome?" Miroku turned to see Sango.

"No, but Inuyasha's in there so don't-"But before he could finish, there bathroom door flew open. A flustered Kagome stormed out, soaking and clutching her towel. She ran to her room and slammed the door. After her, a dripping Inuyasha walked out.

"S'cuse me." Was all he said as he stomped past the two staring. Sango looked to Miroku and he shrugged and turned to his room. Sango, confused, just shook her head and went into the bathroom.

Ok, that's it for this chappie. The next one has a funny mir/san moment. It was inspired by a picture, but I'll get into that later. Please review, I need to know whether or not to continue.


	3. Overheard and Interupted

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-boy n friends, would I be here? NO! If I did, some things would go a LIL differently...

Ok, another chapter. I needed to update this weekend, since I actually have time gasp! yea, I know. With school and it being the first week and all, it's a bit hectic. And then there's this stupid hurricane, and I'm around where it might hit, and if it does, I will not be to happy. Anyways, I haven't gotten any more review. Makes me sad :( see, see the sad face? That's me folks...But if anyone out there IS reading this, here's the third chapter.

**Chapter 3-Over-heard and Interupted**

Kagome sat for the longest time staring out her window. 'What does Sango think? And Miroku? I can't ever look Inuyasha in the eye again. Not after what Miroku sai-' Her jaw set, her eyebrows furrowed, and she threw open her door to head for the kitchen.

-----

"You knew! You knew I was there!" Kagome's voice echoed through the large kitchen. Miroku was backed against a cabinet and Kagome had an accusing finger in his face. "You had it planned, didn't you? You scheming pervert!"

"No, I didn't have it planned. I just walked in and saw your clothes...and him. I assumed, naturally. I could've done a lot more damage, but decided against it." The cook said to the fuming girl. "We all toy around with each other, you should join the fun. You'll feel better if you do."

Kagome spun around and sat at the counter in the center of the kitchen. "What does Sango think?" Kagome asked, worried about what her friend thought.

"I told her what happened, she thinks I'm a jerk, but at least Hojo thought it was funny." Miroku answered, then added with a sigh, "But he thinks everything's funny, so he might not count."

As the cook was pondering about whether or not Hojo's opinion counted, Sango walked in, shooting Miroku a dangerous glance. He held up his hands in defense. "How are you Kagome?" Sango asked.

"Oh, I'm ok, really." She answered, looking at her friend with a convincing smile. Sango then walked up to Miroku and started lecturing him about kindness and trickery when the doorbell rang. Kagome got up to answer it, leaving the other two to bicker.

She walked up to the large glass door with the oak frame. She straightened her dress before opening it. As soon as she did though, two children flew in. One, was an orange haired demon boy. His jade green eyes sparkled as her chased after the little girl. Her brown eyes seemed to laugh as joyously as she was.

"So, you must be the new servant." The young man in the doorway took Kagome's attention from the children. His cool, blue eyes looked her up and down. "I'm Kouga, I live next door." He said, leaning in the door's frame.

Kagome blushed at the way he watched her. "I...I...my name's...uhh." But instead of seeing those lovely blue pools when she looked up, she saw silver hair and a shoulder with a red t-shirt.

"What do _you_ want flea-bag?" Inuyasha asked gruffly.

"You're supposed to watch the brats, remember? I have somewhere to go." Kouga growled back.

"Then go, we wouldn't want you to be late, now, would we?" Inuyasha asked tauntingly. Kouga glared at Inuyasha, and then his eyes fell to Kagome. He smirked and waved to her before he turned on his heals and left.

"Finally." Inuyasha muttered. He caught Kagome blushing out of the corner of his eye. His eyes narrowed and he turned to her. "Why are you blushing like that?" He asked in a tone she had never heard him use before.

Kagome fidgeted with her fingers, "No reason." She said nervously. Thankfully, before he asked any more questions, a loud crash was heard. Then it got deathly quiet.

"Shippo, Rin, get in here! I don't feel like hunting you two rats down!" Inuyasha yelled.

The two children slunk down the stairs. "What did you break?" Inuyasha asked, his eye twitching.

"He did it Lord Inuyasha!" Rin said, pointing at her young master. Inuyasha wanted an answer, not an accusation. But before he exploded, the young girl asked, "Who's she?" pointing at Kagome. Kagome smiled and bent down to the kids.

"My name's Kagome, my friend and I are new here."

"Where's your friend?" Shippo asked.

"In the kitchen with Miroku." Kagome replied.

Shippo jumped onto Inuyasha's shoulder and said, "Let's go! I wanna meet her, and I'm thirsty too." Inuyasha grumbled as the four walked to the kitchen. They were outside the door when they heard voices.

-----

"Are you sure that was your first time?"...Miroku.

"Yea, (catches breath) wanna do it again?"...Sango.

"Let me rest a bit."...Miroku.

"Oh come on! I thought you had better stamina than that Miroku!"

"Well, I didn't think you could do it that long! You're better than I imagined."

-----

Kagome gasped and looked at Inuyasha, whose expression was equally surprised.

"What the hell are they _doing_ in there?" Inuyasha asked, his mouth gaping.

"Let's find out!" Shippo said as he leapt from his perch and onto the doorknob. He opened it and ran in, followed by Rin.

"**NO**!" Inuyasha and Kagome yelled in unison. They ran in after the kids and found Miroku and Sango with their arms propped up on the counter...arm wresting.

Kagome and Inuyasha looked at them, then to each other, and back to the pair. The kids were sitting up on the counter and counting down for them to start again.

Kagome sighed. "Oh, I thought they were...ya know..."

"Yea, I know, me too." Inuyasha said, equally relieved. He shook his head and turned to leave.

Kagome blinked. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"To my room." He replied, still walking.

"But won't you get-"Kagome started. He stopped and looked at her, "-lonely?"

"Keh, I'll be fine." He said as he turned to continue.

Kagome glanced at the four goofing off in the kitchen. She ran to catch up with Inuyasha. He could hear her running after him, and stopped before he reached the stairs, waiting to see what is was she wanted.

"Wait!" Kagome yelled. "Do you...want company?" she asked, trying to reach out to him. 'He just seems so lonely. Even when he's around us all, he seems so...secluded...so alone. And the world's not a pleasant place to be without...someone.' She thought as she watched him, waiting for his answer.

He kept his gaze forward and his features unmoved as he replied, "Sure." She smiled and followed him to his room. She hopped in front of him to open the door.

"Allow me to, _master_." She said more playfully than serious. He walked in and plopped on his bed. She stepped in behind him, closing the door after her. His gaze followed her as she walked around his room. She made her way over to the window. The sun was setting in an array of spectacular colors. The yellows, reds, oranges, and pinks swirled along the horizon in an ever-changing crimson hue, as the blue faded to a light purple and deepened in the far sky.

"Wow..." she whispered.

Inuyasha crept up behind her. With a mischievous smirk, he leaned down, his chin nearly touching her shoulder, and whispered, "Never seen a sunset?"

Chills ran down her spine in a tingling sensation. "No," she finally whispered, "never."

"Well, if you want, you can come here every night to watch, this room has the best view." He said, still where he was.

Kagome nearly spun around, but he grabbed her upper-arms to hold her in place and said, "No, keep watching."

She finally relaxed under his grip. She watched the sun fade, the moon rise and brighten, and slowly stars started to shine through the navy blanket that covered the sky.

"We...never saw this. Not in our cells. We didn't have windows. It was always so dark...dark and cold." Her body went tense as she clenched her fists. Inuyasha felt the change in her and turned her around to face him. Her sad, dazed expression shocked him. Though he hadn't known her long, he felt like he'd known her forever because he felt so comfortable around her. He didn't want to see her like this.

"Hey, you're not there anymore. You're here now and we're all gonna be friends, ok?" He said, hoping to pull her out of her trance.

She blinked and looked up at him. "Ok, yea." She said. 'We're friends. For some reason, hearing him say that...makes me feel better.'

-----

They were back downstairs in the kitchen making sundaes with everyone (minus Sesshomaru). Shippo and Rin were staying the weekend it seemed.

"Kouga's away a lot, so we stay here. There's only one other servant, and she travels with Kouga." Shippo explained.

"So this Kouga, is he your brother?" Sango asked before taking a bite of her ice cream.

"He's my cousin. Both my parents died, so he's my guardian now."

They finished their treat and went their separate ways to bed. Shippo slept with Kagome, and Rin with Sango. Both Kagome and Sango smiled as they drifted off to sleep, happy that they had survived their first day.

-----

Ok, done for now. Kikyou enters next time kiddies! Oh, and the part with Miroku and Sango...you know what part I'm talking about...arm wrestling? Yea, that was inspired by a fanart piece done by the wonderful Mikaila at And please...PLEASE leave a review. I NEED to know if typing this all up and posting it is worth my time. It would make me very happy to get one...two maybe...please...it's not that hard. Just click on the bitty button...right down there...look down...see it? huh? Ok, now, click...and type something. Just tell me what you think. Do you like it? Is there somewhere I can improve? Even if it's just to tell me how much you love chicken...I don't care, but I need to know if anyone's actually reading this...At all...or else it's a waste of my time. But I would like to let you ppl see a few more chapters, at least get more of the plot in, THEN I'll start threatening to stop posting. No need to worry just yet. But you wouldn't have to worry at all...if you left a REVIEW. lol. Ok, maybe I'm rubbing this in too much, but it is rather important.


	4. The Girl Next Door

Disclaimer: Don't own them yet. But Christmas will be here in NO time at all!

Ok, finally the plot comes in to play a bit. At least...part of it's mentioned. And yes, Kikyou finally makes her apearance.

Chapter 4-The Girl Next Door

The sun peaked through the window and danced on Kagome's cheek. She woke up and got out of bed. Careful not to wake Shippo up, she slipped out of the white night gown she was wearing. She went to the closet and pulled out the short black dress that she and Sango wore. Their dress was simple, yet somehow, mannerly and sophisticated. Then she buckled the buckle on the black healed shoes they wore to complete their uniforms.

She tiptoed to the door, left, and headed for the kitchen where the other servants were. She sat down and Hojo passed her a mug of coffee.

"Thanks," she said. "When do I take Inuyasha his breakfast?" Miroku took a quick look at his watch. "Ahh...you still have half an hour." Kagome nodded her head once in understanding.

"Ya know Kagome, it's been two years since we've woken up to sunlight." Sango said looking at her reflection in the dark liquid that filled her mug.

"Well, let's go sit outside then. We can finish waking up out on the side patio." He stood up and the others followed him out of a door they hadn't noticed before.

There was a good-sized grill on the cemented area. They sat there for about five minutes; no one said a word. Then someone spoke to them.

"So, your masters have bought two more servants I see." They looked up to see a beautiful young woman. Her long, straight, raven hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and her brown eyes held a certain sadness and other unreadable emotions. Her posture was one of grace and dignity. Her voice, though it was calm, had shattered their silence.

"Kikyou?" Miroku half stated, half asked. "I thought-"

"We arrived earlier than expected." She answered the question he hadn't had time to ask, then continued. "So, Miroku, have you an answer for me?"

His face suddenly grew pale. "Kikyou, I don't think it the best idea, so I will decline. And I don't want you to mention it to me again." Miroku's usual kindness was not visible in his usual jubilant voice.

Kikyou gave an amused chuckle. "You may have refused, but there are others. In face," she glanced at Kagome, locking eyes with her for a moment, "There is another here now." Question was apparent on the cook's face as his eyebrows furrowed. "Go on." He said.

"This girl," she walked over to Kagome, "also has the gift."

Kagome looked at the two of them. "What gift?" She asked, not having a clue as to what they were speaking of.

"You have spiritual powers. I can sense them. Those powers can be used to help us." Kikyou said as she watched Kagome's expression change.

"Help us? Whada ya mean by that? Help us how?"

A smile graced Kikyou's lips. "Help us...gain our deserved freedom."

"Freedom. How, I still don't get it?" Kagome continued to question the elder girl.

"Our powers; yours, Miroku's and my own, are the only was a mortal can destroy a demon."

Realization hit Kagome like a ton of bricks. "You mean...kill them?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yes." Kikyou simply stated.

"No! No, never! That's uncivil!" Kagome said.

"Uncivil is killing countless innocent people to gain dominance, and then making the physically weaker work to your every demand. That, is uncivil." Kikyou said rather coldly.

"Even still, killing them won't justify what they did to us." Kagome retaliated, equally cold.

"You're right, but freedom isn't won by being fair. Nothing is won that way." Kikyou said as she turned away. "I'll be back later for the children." She walked a ways, then stopped and turned to add, "And if you don't fight with me, you will suffer the same fate as they do." She finished with that and continued towards her master's home.

Sango looked from Miroku to Kagome. "I want my freedom as much as the next servant, but...y'all made the right choice. If she tries anything weird, I'll do what I can to help you guys." She said. She was content with standing by her friends' sides.

"CEREAL!" Hojo said as he jumped up. "Master Inuyasha's cereal!" He grabbed Kagome and pulled her into the kitchen. He pulled the milk out of the refrigerator and put in on the tray that had been prepared earlier.

"Go, or you'll be late! I lost track of the time!" Hojo said, shoving her out of the kitchen.

-----

'He worries too much.' Kagome thought as she walked up the stairs. She passed several doors before coming to Inuyasha's room at the end of the hall. She opened the door and walked in. She set the tray down on his desk by the door. 'Should I wake him up?' She thought while watching him sleep. She looked out of his open window to think about it. 'I just saw this!' She thought, and looked down. The grill, Hojo, and Miroku, all sitting below her head popped out of the window. 'Thankfully he's asleep. If he had heard all that with...Kikyou? Yea, that's her name, he would HATE us!' She set that aside, and decided to think about her current situation.

She walked over to his bed and studied him further. He was sleeping on his stomach; his arms clung to his pillow in which his face was buried deeply. His silver hair thrown all over, and his back...his bare back...his muscular, bare back. 'Hmm...' Kagome thought. 'Miroku said to join the fun of toying with each other. I bet that's what Inuyasha was doing the other day!' A sly grin crossed her face.

She slowly traced her finger down his spine and whispered near his ear, "Oh Master, wake up. I brought your breakfast." He turned his head to the side and opened on eye to look at her. She heard a low grumble in his chest as he stretched.

"Mornin'" He said sleepily.

"Good morning my sunshine. Did you sleep well?" She asked playfully.

"Yea, and all I dreamed about was you." He said.

"Oh, should I be flattered?"

"I was joking." He replied.

"That's a shame." Sango's voice caught the two off guard in the midst of their games.

"Kagome, I was going to help you in the library, but if you're busy..." she said with a laugh.

"Oh, no, I'm coming." Kagome said as she got up. She then looked to Inuyasha, still in a sleepy daze. "We'll be there if you need us."

-----

Kagome was dusting at a table and Sango was picking up stray books. Sango finally broke the silence that blanketed the large room.

"What...what was that about?" She asked with a smile.

Kagome blushed slightly. "We were joking Sango!" she declared.

Sango looked at her younger friend with a knowing smile. "You like him."

"Do not! We're...just friends." Her blush was growing, and her voice sounded nothing but unconvincing.

"Uh-huh. I think you two skipped that part completely. I see the way you two look at each other when you think no one else is looking. And the way you act around him!" Sango said.

"It's nothing. Really!" Kagome said. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" The elder girl asked.

"You and Miroku?" Kagome asked in a girlie voice.

"Nothing to it." She replied in a false convincing tone.

For the rest of the day, the girls gossiped in the library. They may be servants, but this was as good as freedom. Kikyou's words did linger in the back of their minds though. But more ears heard that first thought.

--

Ok, that's it for now. You know what to do. Review. Please. I refuse to beg! But I will if it comes to that! And I want everone to know, that I do like Kikyou. In fact, she's one of my favorite characters. It's just that she was the only one that really fit the 'evil person' slot. Hey, it was either her, Kagome, or Miroku. And uh...they aren't ever really percieved as 'evil' people. Kouga comes back next chapter. But he's not there long, but he's needed to make the plot progress.


	5. You Thought It Was A Secret

Disclaimer: haha...I wish. But nooooo!

Ok, I wanted to get this up before the weekend, cuz I'm not gonna be here. I'm gonna be with my dad...--...yea, no fun at all. We have our differences...BUT...here's the chapter. And this is the first time I've just typed it up. Usually I write it out, then type it. So I hope it's long enough for you all!

Chapter 5- You Thought It Was A Secret

The girls were still in the process of cleaning the library when Miroku came through the door. The both looked up at him to see that he wasn't all too pleased.

"I'm going to take the children back. It's late afternoon, and Kikyou should've come and gotten them by now. And then there's the fact that Lord Sesshomaru wants them out. I'll be back." He shut the door behind him, not letting them say anything. They both shook their heads and got back to work.

After they had finished getting the whole library picked up for the day, they went back down to the kitchen. Surprisingly, no one was there. It was later in the afternoon, about five. Usually there was someone there, and the girls found it quite strange. Hojo soon came in the door saying something about bad traffic downtown. But he didn't get to finish. In the middle of his oh so interesting traffic bit, Miroku came busting through the side door, Shippo and Rin at his side, all three with expressions on their faces that would make you think they had seen a ghost. The three sitting in the kitchen jumped out of their seats.

"What's wrong Miroku?" Sango asked as Kagome grabbed the two children.

"He...we...it was..." He was at a loss for words. His expression never changed from the horrified look that blanketed it. Then Rin burst out, "HE'S DEAD!"

"I'll go find the Lord." Hojo said running out the door.

"Who's dead sweety?" Kagome asked calmly, trying to get the girl to stop sobbing. She looked to Miroku for and answer, but he was still staring ahead blankly, apparently lost in shock.

"MASTER KOUGA!" Rin finally answered between tears.

Sango squeezed Miroku's arm to try to bring him back from wherever his mind had wandered. "Miroku, what happened?"

He blinked then shook his head. His face grew solemn and his voice along with it. "We went to the door and rang, but Kikyou never came. The children pulled out the extra key and we unlocked the door and went in. We got inside, and the place was trashed. We had no idea about what had happened. We went looking for either Kikyou or Kouga." He looked at Sango, "We found Kouga dead. And it seems like it wasn't even a struggle. His body seemed burned, but...there was nothing near him that would burn him. It was as if his skin just...burst in flame. And he has wounds all over him. Like something had hit him with an extremely strong force! It was awful."

Kagome and Sango looked at each other. Then Kagome spoke up. "And...and what about Kikyou?"

Just the name sent and unearthly chill down Miroku's spine. "We...didn't find her anywhere. It is as if she...has left." The two children clung to Kagome, and she looked at the two standing. They were all thinking the same thing. But Kagome was the first to think it out loud. "You don't think she..."

"I think...she did. She has started putting her plan into action." They all just sat there in silence. The tension in the air was stifling. They all had the same expression on their faces. Worry, disbelief, uncertainty, and guilt. But the deadly silence was broken once Sesshomaru entered the room, accompanied by Inuyasha and Hojo. He looked over them all with an unreadable yet cold expression.

"Miroku, tell me what happened." The lord said flatly.

Miroku told him the same thing he had told the girls earlier. Sesshomaru watched and listened, taking in every word he said. He watched the emotions change and flow over the cook's face. He knew Miroku wasn't lying, and that indeed, Kouga was dead.

"Hojo, call the police. I'll get in touch with Kouga's 'people.' This is not a good thing. He was in charge of a large company, and this will have a large, but negative impact on everyone there. The children will stay with us." Sesshomaru turned with those words, followed by Hojo and the two young ones.

Inuyasha looked at the remaining servants. Or more specifically, Miroku and Kagome. His gaze lingered on Kagome before he turned back to the cook and asked, "Are you all right, Miroku?"

The cook unsteadily shook his head. "Yea, I'm fine," he replied. "But I worry about what happened."

Inuyasha kept a steady gaze on Miroku, and it made the cook nervous. His master then cocked his head to the side. "Why do you worry about it? Is there something you're not telling me?" he asked.

The three servants went stiff at hearing this question. Miroku completely avoided Inuyasha's eyes, "N-n-no. Why would you think that?"

"No reason I guess. Just curious." Inuyasha turned his eyes from Miroku, to look at Kagome. It was as if he was searching through her eyes for something. He was looking in her eyes for the truth. "You girls don't know anything. Nothing suspicious?" He asked, his gaze unmoved.

Kagome shivered inside under his stare. "No. We don't know any more that what Miroku told us." She said, trying to sound convincing, but her voice was shaky.

'She's lying.' Inuyasha thought. 'Why don't they just tell me? What, do they think I'll throw them out? They don't honestly think I'll hurt them, do they?'

"Ok, if you say so." Inuyasha left the kitchen. The others waited until they heard his footsteps fade down the hall.

"What're we gonna do?" Sango questioned. "We think we know what happened, but we can't tell him. He might put the blame on us! If he knows we knew something, he'd say we could have done something to prevent it." She said with a shaky voice.

"But we didn't think Kikyou would actually go on with the plan. As far as we know, us three are the only ones with this power, the people that have it are limited. It will take her a while to actually get a good enough number to do any major damage. And by the time she does find enough 'followers' authorities will have found out her intentions and what she did, and stop her." Miroku said, trying to convince himself, and hopefully the others.

"Sango's right though, we could have told Inuyasha or Sesshomaru, and this could have been prevented."

"Let's not tell them. We didn't know what would happen, and I don't want to suffer whatever consequences there are." Miroku advised.

The girls shook their heads, and went on with their night duties. The children slept with the older girls again. It seemed they would be staying with them for a long while. Sesshomaru wasn't quite sure what happened. But the fact that Kikyou had suddenly disappeared, made him think that she definitely had something to do with the demon's death. He also knew that they had to find her as quickly as possible. He had a feeling that more dangerous things would happen at her hands if they didn't find her.

-----

Kagome woke up early the next morning due to Sango shaking her gently. "Kagome, Kagome wake up." Her friend whispered. Kagome opened her sleepy eyes to her friend. "Hmm?" Was the only response she gave.

"Come on, get dressed, Miroku made us breakfast today, don't you wanna eat?"

Kagome dragged out of bed and got dressed. The two walked silently down the hall to the kitchen where Miroku and Hojo sat at the center counter. The two guys looked up as the girls entered the room.

Kagome looked around the table and saw...toast. "You woke me up...for toast?" Kagome asked, quite irritated. Knowing that she could have done it on her own, didn't make her very happy.

Hojo laughed, "We had to get you out of bed somehow!"

Miroku grinned, "Yea, we needed the four of us to talk. We didn't get much of a chance last night. Or at least Hojo didn't hear what we had to say, and what decision we came to on the whole ordeal next door."

The all sat up to listen; putting thoughts of delicious toast aside.

"Hojo, you know as well as the rest of us do about Kikyou, and what she said to us yesterday morning." Miroku asked.

Hojo shook his head. For once in his life he was being serious, and not acting stupid. "Yes. You guys think it was her too, don't you?" He asked, looking around at the others as he said it.

They all shook their heads. Then Sango said, "Yea, and we think the best thing to do is be quiet about it. If the masters found out we knew..."

"Oh, I know! I wasn't planning on telling them! I don't want any of us to get in trouble. If I told, we'd all go down, not just one or two of us!" He said. They were glad to hear that response. He actually has a brain up in that seemingly empty head of his.

So they all agreed on it. They wouldn't tell a soul. What they knew would stay within the four of them. They then ate their toast, and began their day.

-----

'I wonder how this is all going to turn out.' Kagome thought as she walked up the stairs to Inuyasha's room. She glanced at the many pictures that covered the hall walls. 'If Kikyou gets caught, will they come after others that have powers too?' She was worried. Worried that if she and Miroku were caught, they would be killed. 'Inuyasha wouldn't let that happen. We're his friends, right? He'd protect us...right?'

She now stood in front of his door, and took a deep breath before entering the room. She set the tray down on the same desk she did last time. She glanced over at him and noticed he was asleep still, on his stomach like last time. He looked so calm and peaceful. 'He wouldn't let anyone take us away, or hurt us. He wouldn't.' Though she kept thinking that, doubt still echoed in her mind. She walked over to him to get a closer look at his face. She bent down, and looked at his features. 'Almost...like an angel.' A funny grin played at her lips. She stood up and turned to leave. But then, she felt a hand grab her left wrist. Before she could turn around, Inuyasha rolled over onto his back, and since her wrist was in his left hand, she went sprawling across his chest in the process.

She looked up at him. His eyes were closed, but he had a smirk on his face. He wasn't asleep. He was wide-awake, and enjoying the embarrassment he was causing her. "Mornin' sunshine." He said, amusement hidden in his voice. She gawked at him, her face red, and her eyes wide. 'He's...he's messing with me!'

"Yea. Um...I-I brought your, uh, ce-cereal." She stuttered. His smirk changed to a smile, his white fangs glinting in the early light that was starting to make it's way through his window.

She frowned up at him, not wanting to get caught in their present condition. Though she didn't really mind, it was just the two of them, but nonetheless, she didn't want anyone to walk in on them. But her pout changed to a blank face when his smirk dropped, and his expression grew serious.

"Kagome," He started.

"Yea?" She asked, not knowing what was going through his mind. 'Why is he doing this? I thought he was just joking. But now...he's not.'

"You'd never hurt me, would you?" He asked, opening his eyes for the first time, looking straight into her chocolate orbs.

She was shocked at the question. "No! I'd never hurt you, you know that!" She said, not liking the thought that he would think such a thing. 'He's...he's not being serious, is he? He knows I'd never hurt him.'

"How could you even ask such a stupid question?" She hardly let out; pain tainted her words.

His eyebrows furrowed when he heard the pain in the question. "It's just...with Kouga. Kikyou did it. And...I was just wondering...if you'd ever do that to me?" He said. His eyes bore in to hers.

Kagome's eyes grew wide. 'He knows I'm like her.'

--

Ok, done. Yea, Kouga dies. But it had to be done folks! And wow, it's a cliffhanger...I don't like them, but I needed to stop somewhere, and I still have to come up with the next chapter! So...now...review please! I'll give you a cookie if you do! Dangles cookie in your faceSnatches cookie away No, not until you review...


	6. What You Don't Want Them To Know

Disclaimer: I don't own much...and of the few things I do, Inu-boy is not one of them.

Well, I'm back with an update. I was outa town this w/e, went to Mrytle Beach, and I had an ok time. But my neck hurts cuz my dad's too cheap to pay to stay at a good hotel, so we were stuck in a cheap motel with flat pillows. But we did go shopping at the new mall...so I guess it's all good...I guess.

Chapter 6-What You Don't Want Them To Know

She sat there staring at him. Afraid to talk; afraid to move; afraid to breathe. Slowly, she started shaking her head. 'He knows I'm like her. He knows I have those stupid powers. He thinks I'll hurt him. He's gonna kill me!' Her mind raced. She did the first thing she could think of. She jumped and ran.

She ran down the hall, making her way for the stairs. He wasn't far behind, and would've been on her tail, but he wasn't expecting her to do that. 'Oh gods, help me!' Her mind raced, and her feet flew about as fast as the thoughts. She could hear him catching up behind her. 'He's fast! And he's catching up quickly. I can't let him get me!' She knew she didn't have a chance against his speed and power. He was half-demon after all.

Kagome skidded around the corner of the hall, nearly falling down the stairs because she turned the corner so sharply. But her fall was prevented when a clawed hand reached out and grabbed the back of her dress.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, trying to get her to stop.

She tried to squirm out of his grasp; afraid of what he was going to do to her. But he held her tightly to his chest. It wasn't really working. 'I need to talk to her. I need to see her face. I gotta turn her around, which might not be so easy with her kicking around like this.' With those thoughts, Inuyasha spun her around and pinned her to the wall. He had her arms pinned by her head, and his body was close enough to hers so that she was unable to move.

'I'm gonna die!' Kagome thought, her eyes clutched shut, tears threatening to fall out of the corners. 'I'm gonna die, and I didn't even do anything! What luck. I wish I'd fallen down the stairs.' She stood unmoved for a moment. 'Why isn't he doing anything, or even talking?' She listened closely to the sound of his breathing. She could feel his chest rise and fall with every breath he took. She could also feel his warm breath against her cheek. 'Are we THAT close?' She thought. 'What a wonderful place to be before I die, pinned against a wall by Inuyasha.' She inwardly laughed at her own thoughts. 'This isn't funny, why do I think this is funny? He's probably about to rip my throat out. He thinks I'll betray him, so he's gonna get rid of me! I even thought we were friends!'

"Kagome," he whispered. His sudden voice caused her to jump in her skin. "Look at me. Open your eyes, ok?"

Slowly, her eyes opened, and she found herself staring into Inuyasha's molten eyes. She felt her knees buckle beneath her a bit. "Yes?" She let out, hardly audible.

"I need to hear you say it. Tell me you'll never betray me." His voice was stern, and she felt tears stinging in her eyes. She tried to blink them away, starting to shut her eyes. "Don't close your eyes, keep looking at me. I need to know your telling me the truth."

She kept her eyes open and the tears began to fall. 'Why...why is he making me do this? I already told him...'

"How could you even think that. Why do you think I'd hurt you?" Her voice was shaky, and her fists were clutched in anger.

"Kagome, I know about you...and Miroku." Inuyasha said.

"And you think we're like HER?" Kagome's tears of mental anguish rolled down her cheek.

Inuyasha bent down close to her. So close that their noses touched. "I'm not saying you're like her. I just need to hear you say it, I need to see you say it. So please, just say it."

"I'll never...never ever betray you. I'd never hurt you, I wouldn't ever dream about it!" Her eyes blurred over with tears as she cried out.

Inuyasha could see the truth shining strongly through her eyes. She was still rambling, but he couldn't understand a word of it. He watched as tears kept falling from her eyes, though he had no idea what for, he didn't do anything to her. 'How do I shut her up?' He thought.

"Why are you crying?" He finally asked.

"I thought that you thought that I was gonna hurt you, which I'd never do, and I thought that you'd kill me and not even give me a chance, and that you thought I was like Kikyou, which I'm not and then I thought that you'd hurt Miroku too, and then..."

Inuyasha let his forehead rest on Kagome's, which made her stop speaking abruptly. Then, he started laughing. She stared at him in shock and disbelief. "Why...why are you laughing?" She asked.

"You thought I'd hurt you? What gave you that idea?" He asked, opening his eyes to look at hers.

"Well, that's what most master's do when their servants disobey them or betray them. They either hurt them, or sometimes kill them." She said, slightly embarrassed that she really thought that.

His gaze softened, and his eyes held an emotion that Kagome couldn't decipher. His head slipped from where it was on her forehead, to where his mouth was right next to her ear. Then his grasp on her wrists weakened, and he let go, slipping them around her into an embrace. "I'd never hurt you." He whispered.

Her knees went weak, and if he weren't holding her, she would've fallen to the ground. The way he said it made every hair on the back of her neck stand on ends. Her arms that had fallen at her side, lifted to lightly clutch the back of his shoulders, her fingers mixing with his silver hair.

'Why does this feel so right? Just like this, I could stand this way forever.' She felt so comfortable in his hold; so secure, so safe, so warm. It was as if for that moment, time had frozen. But the truth of it all crept in to her mind slowly. 'No...this...it isn't right. I...we can't be like this.'

She let go of the grip on his shoulder and started to pull away. She stood in front of him, savoring the moment of silence. Her eyes looked sad, and his confused. "Inuyasha," she began, "we can't do this." He could see the pain in her eyes. She knew as well as he did that it couldn't work. They would be outcasts in society, shunned by all demons.

"Kagome..."

"Your cereal is in your room. It will get soggy if you don't eat it soon...master." Her voice was unreadable, but he could read every emotion she held that moment in her deep chocolate pools.

She left him leaning against the wall as she walked down the stairs and to the kitchen.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Sango asked, jumping up from the stool she was sitting on to run to her friend's side.

The silent tears were again staining the young girl's face. She stared ahead blankly, not wanting to answer her worried friend.

"He knows." Was all she said at first.

The others looked at her, not completely sure of what she was speaking about.

"Inuyasha. He knows about our powers." She directed at Miroku.

His face fell into a grave expression. "How?" Was all he was capable of asking; worry dripping off the single word.

"I don't know. But he does."

"Is that why you're so upset? Did he do anything to you?" Sango asked in hopes of actually getting an answer this time.

"Yea," Kagome lied, "But he didn't do anything. He just made me tell him I'd never betray him." Her voice was still emotionless, and she averted her eyes so that they couldn't see the pain that was threatening to show.

"Is that all?" Sango asked unsure. 'She's not telling us everything. Oh Kagome, what happened? I'll have to ask her later. She may just not feel like talking about it. Or maybe I should ask Inuyasha, he'll probably know, seeing as he was the last person she spoke with.'

Kagome nodded her head. "I'm going to go work in the library. If you need me, I'll be there." She walked out the door with the last word.

Miroku looked at Sango who was biting her lower lip. "There's something she's not telling us." The cook said.

"Yea, I know. I wonder what it is though?" The worried girl wondered aloud.

Miroku set his hand on her shoulder, "Maybe, we should ask Inuyasha. If he doesn't know, then he'll find out."

Sango turned to Miroku and asked, "What do you mean he'll find out?"

"You know as well as I do that there's something between those two. Ever since the day y'all came here. If we tell him something's wrong, and ask him, and he doesn't know, he'll confront her about it because he'd worry about her." Miroku answered.

Sango shook her head. "Let's go then." She grabbed his arm and they ran out of the kitchen and headed towards their young master's bedroom.

Inuyasha was swirling his cereal around the bowl with his spoon when he heard a knock at the door.

"Yea? Come in." He said, readily expecting Kagome to come through the doors. But instead Miroku and Sango came through, closing the door behind them. 'Uh-oh.' He thought. 'They look determined to find something out.' His thoughts were no lie.

"Did...uh...do you know what's wrong with Kagome?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha bit his tongue. 'There's no way I'M telling them what happened.' He watched them for a second before saying, "No. Why?"

Miroku stepped forward. "Well, it's just she seemed a bit upset when she came into the kitchen. And seeing as YOU were the last person she spoke to..."

Inuyasha started to fidget. "Well, I don't know what's wrong with her. It's not like anything happened." He was all but convincing.

Inuyasha was trying to come up with a good excuse that didn't involve him in any manor as to why Kagome would be upset. But, since in this series, the characters always have PERFECT timing...Kagome walked in the door at that very moment. Not seeing the others, she said, "Inuyasha, we really need to talk." Then she looked up to see, instead of one pair of eyes looking at her, three were.

'Crap.' Was the only thing Inuyasha and Kagome both thought at that moment.

Hey! Look! Another cliffie! Sorry...really, I am. But I still don't know how I'm gonna have them react. So I'm workin on it, ok kiddies? Review please! Even if it's to tell my how you hate writting English papers after only being in school for a week or two...I can connect to that... --


	7. Slip Up Of Words

Disclaimer: Ok, I own: pj's, slippers, and a pencil...but no Inuyasha (pouts).

Ok, got another chapter for whoever out there is reading this. A little bit more humor this time guys. I think last time I gotta bit 'drama-y' on you. But if you have romance, you have drama. The two kinda go hand in hand. Anyways, enough babbling, I'll save that for the end!

Chapter 7-Slip Up Of Words

Kagome looked from her best friend, to the cook, and finally to the equally wordless half-demon sitting on the bed. He could read her expression clearly. 'What are we gonna do?' He shook his head and slightly shrugged.

"Uh...hi guys. What's up?" Kagome said to her friends that she thought were left in the kitchen.

"Well, Kagome. Ya see we were worried about you. I mean, you didn't say much to us, and we thought that maybe Inuyasha would know something." Sango admitted to her friend. "And I know that you probably don't like that I'm going to him first and not you, but...I was scared that something was really wrong."

Kagome looked at her friend. "Well, I am a bit upset that you didn't wait for me to tell you what happened."

"You were going to TELL her?" Inuyasha yelled, jumping up in the process.

Kagome looked at him, a bit surprised at the outburst. "Well, yea. Sango's my best friend. I tell her everything."

Miroku had a goofy smile on his face. "So...What exactly DID happen between you two? It has to be something good, or Inuyasha wouldn't get so worked up over someone else finding out."

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Kagome and Inuyasha yelled at the cook in unison.

"Oh, so now I'm the only one that's not gonna know?" He said with a mixture of sarcasm and humor in his voice. His violet eyes danced in amusement. "I bet you two were having some kinda love affair, and you didn't want anyone to find out; because then both of you would be looked down upon. How right am I?" He said, hoping to set some kind of spark off.

"An affair? I wouldn't say that...it was more of a-"Inuyasha started, but never finished thanks to a glare that could kill from Kagome.

"It was nothing of the sort!" She said more to Inuyasha than to Miroku.

"Yea, you're right. We didn't even do anything." Inuyasha thought out loud.

"But if you never did anything, why did you start to compare it to an affair?" Miroku asked.

"Well, it's not that it was an affair!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Then what would you call it?" The cook teased.

"It was a secret you moron! Meaning you aren't supposed to know!"

"So there was something! And you had to end it!"

Kagome chimed in. "IT never started! So there was nothing!"

Sango gasped. "So there was going to be something? I knew you liked him!" She said with a giggle.

Kagome blushed. "NO! You've got it wrong!"

"Then tell us so we don't assume the worst." Miroku said. He and Sango were determined to find out what happened between the two. Of course, they were only doing this out of concern for their friend. It had nothing to do with how utterly amusing they were trying to hide it (cough cough).

"It...it was nothing." Inuyasha said, throwing his head up in defiance.

"Then why get so defensive about it?" Miroku asked with an eyebrow raised.

"..." Inuyasha looked at his friend. 'Grr...he's right. Now what?'

"Well...it's just...I don't want you to think something happened. I mean, it's not like I upset her on purpose."

"So...you did upset her?" Sango asked, still trying to figure it all out.

Inuyasha cringed.

"Uhh...Umm...Hmph!" Was his response.

Sango walked over to the boy and grabbed his white ear that sat twitching on top of his head. "What...did...you...do...to...her?" She asked very slowly, flames roaring behind her.

"It was an accident! I don't even know what I did!" He said defensively.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome squealed.

"HA!" Miroku yelled. "So it WAS your fault!" He put his hands on his hips triumphantly.

"It was not MY fault!"

"Then whose fault was it?" Miroku asked.

"No one's, ok?" His master responded.

"Ok, so whatever happened wasn't anyone's fault?" Miroku asked.

"What happened, was no one's fault. We just realized that we-"

"Shut-up Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled.

"So we were right. Something did happen." Sango concluded.

"..." Kagome glared at Inuyasha, whose mouth was hung open like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"Thanks a lot." Kagome directed at the half-demon sarcastically.

"This isn't my fault ya know," he started, "If you hadn't come in, we wouldn't even be in this predicament."

"So now you're blaming it on me?" Kagome asked.

"I guess I am. Also, if you hadn't gone and told them something happened-"

"I didn't say anything!" Kagome yelled in defense.

"Ya must have done something, or they wouldn't even be in here bugging us, now would they!" He yelled back.

"Man, you guys go from screaming, to hugging, to crying, to yelling. Will y'all make up your minds already?" A fourth voice drew their attention to the doorway where Shippo and Rin stood.

"S-Shippo?" Kagome asked in surprise. 'He saw us? Dear gods!' Her insides twisted and turned, 'Now Miroku and Sango will have even more questions. Questions that I really don't wanna answer. I wish I could just...disappear or something along that line.' She looked over at Inuyasha, who had an expression on his face that was very similar to hers. 'That little brat,' he thought, 'opening his big mouth like that!'

Sango and Miroku's gaze drifted from the fox-child in the doorway, to the couple behind them. Sango raised an eyebrow at her friend. Miroku's mouth turned upward into a devilish grin.

"I knew you two were doing something behind our backs." He said, amused at the slight blush that crossed both their faces.

"We weren't doing anything behind your back! It didn't get THAT far." Inuyasha spat, sticking his nose up in the air shortly after.

Kagome jerked her head at him, her eyes open wide. 'Did he actually just say that?'

"Pardon?" (I know...it's French. So let's just play pretend, ok?) She asked coldly. "It never got...THAT...far?" She questioned. "And just what is THAT supposed to mean?"

"Well...the way he meant it was...well..." Inuyasha stamered.

"I know what he meant, I'm asking what you meant." She said, inching closer to him.

He was slowly backing away, fearing that she would explode in his face (which looked like something she was about to do). "Well, all we did was hug, it wasn't anything else." That comment got everone's attention, so they listened more carefully.

"Yea, but you said it didn't get THAT far. So, were you indicating that it could have turned into the type of relationship that Miroku was talking about?"

He kept inching backwards. "Well, yea...I mean, no...It's just..." He bumped into the wall. 'Shit.'

She kept walking until she was right in front of him. One of her eyebrows was raised in anticipation for his response. The others looked on in amusement. Miroku leaned over to Sango and whispered, "This is interesting." She held back a giggle with her hand and responded, "Yea, you're right. I'm glad we did this!"

"Inuyasha, this isn't that hard of a question to answer." Kagome calmly said. 'I want to know what he meant!' She thought. 'Plus this is fun! He's so cute when he's embarrassed!' A slight grin appeared on her lips. She tried to hold it back, but her master caught sight of it.

"You..." His eyes narrowed, "you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

Kagome let her giggle escape. "Yes! I am, but you're too funny!"

He glared at her and his ears twitched slightly in irritation. This caused her to laugh even harder. Which made him even more aggravated than he already was. "It's...not...funny." He growled.

She stopped for a moment to look at him, her eyes teary from laughing so hard. She caught her breath and said, "Inuyasha, you may not think it's funny, but everyone else does. You just got so red in the face, I couldn't help but keep asking." She paused for a moment. "Which brings me back to that. What did you mean when you said...ya know...what you said?"

Sango and Miroku came up behind her to hear what he had to say to that.

"Later," he started, "I'll tell you...LATER!" Putting emphasis on the word and eyeing the two standing behind her.

'He's actually going to tell me?' Kagome thought. She then sighed. "Ok, tell me later." She turned to her friends, "Let's go, we have stuff to do." They left the room, and she glanced back at her master and smiled. He returned it; and with that, she shut the door.

Whew...Ok. Done. That took a few days. I mean, I kept getting on the computer, then I had to get off. Then I'd get on again, and have to get off. And every time I got on, I'd have to read over what I wrote the previous day so that I could racap...which takes a bit of time. It would be alot easier if I just...stayed home all day, instead of going to school. (sigh) when will this madness end? Oh, and please review! You have no idea how good it makes me feel! And I wanna thank those who are reading this. I know for sure I have two good friends who are. They've both tried to leave a review, but it wasn't working for them (the same thing's happened to me before). EVEN STILL...I wanna thank y'all...I wuv yooh!!!


	8. Kid Search

Disclaimer: I had a dream that I owned Inuyasha. But a dream is just a dream. (sighs)

Ok, another chapter. Wow, 8 chapters. And I don't see the end in sight quite yet. I hope you people are happy, b/c I'm having a very fun time writing this. Hehe...I like making the characters do whatever I want them to do. It's fun, isn't it? Yes. I'll answer that one for ya. So...here it is! Have...fun...or whatever you do when you read.

Chapter 8-Kid Search

Kagome walked silently down the hall with the other's following behind her, whispering quietly amongst each other.

"Say, Shippo, did Kagome and Inuyasha really hug?" Sango asked the child propped on her shoulder.

He nodded, "Yep. I'm sure I saw it. Me an' Rin both!" He said while watching the back of Kagome's head, hoping that she couldn't hear. He didn't want her to be mad at him. He liked her, and it would crush him if she was ever mad at him and wouldn't forgive him.

"Well, if they hugged, then she should be happy, right?" Miroku asked. "If the woman I cared for were to embrace me, I would be thrilled, not upset."

Sango nodded her head. "I agree. But there's something Inuyasha said. Something that he started to say anyway. About how they realized something. Do ya think that's what upset her so much?"

Miroku looked at Sango, and slowly started to put the many pieces together. "I think I understand what happened." Sango watched him and listened intensely to his words. "Stick with me, and let's see if this makes sense. Let's say that Kagome and Inuyasha did have feelings for each other. So they express those feelings through that hug. But then, they both realize that they could not have that sort of relationship because of their...status...so to speak. With him being a master, and her the servant, it wouldn't work out."

Sango's mouth hung open. 'Why didn't I think of that?' She mentally asked herself. 'I could see why she would be upset then. Poor Kagome. I won't say anything about it, because it may upset her even more. I just hope she'll talk to me about it. It's not good to keep things like that all locked up. At least it's just a crush and nothing more.'

She then turned to Miroku. "Miroku, I hope that she's ok." She said in a worried voice.

The cook looked to her with understanding eyes. "I'm sure she'll be able to work out her own emotions. We just need to be there whenever she needs us." He smiled, hoping it would reassure her, and it did.

"What do we do?" Rin asked, tugging on the hem of Sango's dress. Sango bent down to the little girl. "You guys just be nice and sweet like always, ok?" Rin shook her head fiercely, and then rocked back and forth on her heals. "We will Sango!" She said cheerfully.

The morning had not gone all too wonderful, and Kagome wanted some alone time. So she went to the library to clean. 'This room will take forever to get completely clean.' Kagome thought. "Who uses this place?" She asked aloud, thinking she was alone.

"I do." Came a smooth voice. She looked to her left, and sitting at a table, was Sesshoumaru. He glanced up at her momentarily before saying, "I don't spend much time here at home, but when I am here, this room is one of my favorite places. It's very quiet, unlike the rest of this place." He looked back to the book he had. "With Inuyasha yelling constantly, and the two children running around, this is not a peaceful place you know."

Kagome nodded. "Yes sir. I understand what you're saying." She watched him for a moment, not sure whether to continue, or leave and let him read in peace. He felt her stare and looked up. She averted her eyes, fearing she had looked to long. "I'll leave if you want, sir." She said quietly.

"No, please continue. This is why we bought you, isn't it? To clean this filthy room. The gods know it needs the cleaning." He said, almost amused. He looked back to his book after his remark, disregarding her completely.

'Well,' she thought, 'I guess I should get to work.' She picked up a stack of books that were scattered on a table. She dusted off the table, then set the books on a nearby shelf. 'I can see why he likes this room. It's quiet, and has all these books! Something about it is calming. It's so unlike the rest of the house, which is all hectic and loud.' She cocked her head to the side in thought as she cleaned a marble table off. Then the table caught her attention. It was the most beautiful table she had ever seen. It was white and black marble, and the pattern was that of a chessboard. She ran her delicate finger over the smooth stone. The pieces were in their positions, waiting for someone to step over and start a game. The little pawns looked as if they had never been touched. The white pieces were made of ivory; soft and almost regal. The black pawns were made of onyx; bold and proud. 'If I had a chess set like this, I'd never touch it! Not that I know how to play, but still, it's so...just...wow.' She thought.

She stood there for a moment before a tap on her shoulder brought her out of her trance. She turned around to see her elder master. "Sir?" She asked.

"You seem quiet interested in the chess board. Do you know how to play?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No sir. But I'd love to learn. It's just that I've never seen one like this before."

"I don't know how to either. I've never taken the time to learn. Our father left this particular board to Inuyasha and myself. Though it does neither of us any good, because like me, Inuyasha doesn't know how to play the game." Sesshoumaru said in his flat, masculine voice.

"Yea, well, Inuyasha doesn't really have the patience to learn." Kagome commented, more to herself than to the lord.

He let out a slight chuckle, which startled her. "That is true." He said. "It seems that you and your friend have made yourselves comfortable here." Kagome nodded her head. "That's good to hear. We plan to keep you two a long time. So far you have done what we ask of you especially well."

Kagome smiled at his compliments. 'He's not so horrible. I've heard he's mean and cold. Which is what I thought of him at first. But he's just a normal man with a high status. I guess people just confuse calm, collected, and intelligent with mean and evil.'

"Well, I must leave you alone now. Tell Miroku that I won't be home for dinner. So he needn't worry about it. I have to go take care of some business." He shook his head disappointingly; "This whole ordeal with Kouga caused a huge upstart in the business district. He worked with many people, and so many relied on his assistance."

Kagome watched at his figure faded from the doorway to the library and the large door slowly shut behind him. 'He and Inuyasha are completely different. Sesshoumaru is smart, quiet, calm, organized, and a bit distant from us all. Inuyasha is the total opposite. I wonder what their parents were like. I've never heard them talk about them.' She stopped for a minute. 'In fact, I've never heard ANYONE talk about them. Sesshoumaru just mentioned their father, but I wonder about...their mother.' Her brows furrowed as she thought a moment longer. 'I wonder who Inuyasha inherited his dog-ears from? I'll ask Miroku, maybe he'll know.' She finished cleaning up the assorted books and papers that were thrown in assorted places, and then skipped down the hall and made her way to the kitchen.

"Hey, Miroku! Lord Sesshoumaru said not to worry about dinner, 'cause he's not gonna be here." Kagome said as she went through the kitchen door. The cook looked up to see her. "Oh, did he? Well, that's a shame, I had a good meal planned out too."

"Well, I guess you'll have to wait then, won't ya?" Sango said. She was sitting across the table from him, and stood up to walk over to the refrigerator when Kagome sat down. Sango reached in and pulled out two drinks and handed one to Kagome. "Thanks." The younger girls said.

Kagome looked around the room. "Where's everyone else? I know Hojo went to take Sesshoumaru somewhere, but...where are the others? Shippo and Rin are usually with at least one of us."

Sango glanced around the large room. She looked up to the ceiling as if she was trying to remember something. "They were both here a while ago..." She looked to Miroku, "I hope they haven't gone and caused some sort of trouble." She said warily.

Miroku absently waved at her before he spoke. "They're kids, they can't get in to too much." He stopped for a second. "Can they?"

Sango and Kagome rolled their eyes at the dense cook. "Come on Kagome, let's go look for them. We wouldn't want them to do anything to make Inuyasha mad. You know his temper." They both ran out of the kitchen to search the house. But it seemed that every room they checked was empty. They had checked the den, the entrance hall, the dinning room, the living room, all the bathrooms they knew of, their bedrooms, the entertainment room, and even the library.

Kagome and Sango sat at the bottom of the stairs to catch their breath. "Where on Earth could they be? There's no way we can search every room in this house." Sango said.

"Yea, I know. Maybe we can ask Inuyasha to sniff them out." Kagome said with a giggle.

Sango giggled as well, "Yea, do you think he'd do that?" She asked.

Kagome shrugged and shook her head. "I doubt it." She said flatly.

"Doubt what?" The voice caused both girls to turn their heads upside down to look at their younger master.

"Hey, Inuyasha," Sango started, "do you think you could help us?"

"Help you do what?" He scowled at the thought of actually working. "I'm not doin' any chores for ya. That's your job!"

"No, no...not like that." Kagome said, finally standing up. "We just can't find the kids. We've looked almost everywhere, and they aren't around."

Inuyasha grunted. Both the girls jumped up and looked at him. "Why would I want to find them. That Shippo tike annoys the hell outa me. Now you want me to go looking for him? You're joking, right?" He said loudly.

"We're serious!" Kagome said.

"Yea, we're just worried about them. We wouldn't want them to get hurt or in trouble." Sango added.

Inuyasha groaned. He really didn't want to do this. But both the girls looked worried, so he figured he might as well help them.

"All right. I'll help you look for 'em." He said with a slight grudge.

Both girls smiled at him, as they set out through the house to search for the children.

Okie dokie folks. I know, a bit boring. But they're gonna find them next time. And there'll also be humor. I guess anytime you put Shippo and Inuyasha together you get humor though. I swear, those two are hilarious together! Especially with Kagome in the mix! Please review and I'll give you a cookie! I won't take it away this time, I promise...


	9. HidenSeek In the Dark

Disclaimer: AH-HA! Now, I own a Dr. Pepper can (with Dr. Pepper IN it) as well as pj's, slippers, and a pencil. Just not Inuyasha...(sniffles)

Ok, here I am again. I'm in the middle of typing Biology notes up. Ugh...talk about boring. There's like, two pages! And after that, I have history notes to type. And since I'm at the computer with free time to waste, I figured I might as well start on this chapter. I hardly even checked over the last chapter, b/c my little sis was in here talking to me, and I guess I was a bit distracted. So I hope everything was ok, and no one had any trouble figuring it all out!

In other news, if anyone's been keeping up with the manga in Japan, you would know about the sad thing that happened. Yes, folks, I am very upset with what happened recently. Naraku has killed off one of my favorite characters (sniffles). I really hope he suffers a long, painful, horrid death...he so rightly deserves it! (angry face and slamming fists down on table).

Chapter 9-Hide-n-Seek in the Dark

Miroku finally decided to join the other three in their search for the children. Kagome and Inuyasha grouped to search the upper floor. Miroku and Sango joined up to search the lower floor.

Sango and Miroku had already searched through five of the many rooms, and there was no sight of either of the kids. "This is going to take forever, Miroku!" Sango said. "There are so many rooms. Kagome and I were hoping they'd be in one of the main rooms, but they weren't. Why would they go in any other room?"

Miroku shrugged as he looked under a table. "I don't know. But I'm gonna strangle them when I find them. Knowing our luck, they'll be in the last room we-"A rustling sound hushed him. He looked at Sango, who had heard it as well. She motioned her head to the closet door that lay slightly ajar. He nodded in return. They both tiptoed quietly over to the door. Miroku set his hand on the doorknob, and Sango was beside him, ready to hit or grab whatever was in there. Miroku jerked the door open, and Sango reached in and grabbed onto something. "Gotcha!" She yelled, pulling out the little girl. "Rin?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"Rin," Miroku started, "WHY are you in this room? And further more, WHY are you in the closet in this room?" The little girl fidgeted with her fingers and suddenly, the floor became quite interesting for her to stare at. Sango still held Rin out at arm's length and raised her eyebrow, waiting for the child to speak up. "Rin?" Sango asked.

"Well, ya see, Shippo and I are playing a game." Rin said, finally looking up at Sango, hoping that the elder girl wouldn't get mad. Kikyou always got mad whenever Rin played games with Shippo. Kikyou would always scold her; "You're a servant here. You don't play around. You aren't supposed to befriend your masters. When you grow up, and you are still his servant, do you actually think you'll be able to talk to him like you're friends?" The answer was of course, always no. Even though Rin didn't realize this, Kikyou was right. If you are too friendly with your master in public, people will think you have no respect. Therefore, they would belittle you even further. It was one thing to have a friendship with masters in the home and out of the public eye, but it was another to be walking down the street and carrying on a conversation with a demon. Unless it was the master who started it, and mostly dominated the conversation; if you only spoke once or twice, or to answer questions, it was all right. Any other circumstances though, and it'd be forbidden by society.

But instead of scolding Rin, as Kikyou had done, Sango's expression seems one of relief and her eyes twinkled as her face softened. She remembered the days when Kagome and her played with their master's grandchildren. She understood what it was like to be a servant child and have the freedom to play. It was a gift not many servant children were given. Sango knew that if you had been given that chance, take it while it lasted, because usually, once you grew up, it wasn't allowed any longer. Which was something she found strange about this household. It was as if everyone were friends here. Everyone got along with each other, and seemed to look at each other as equals. Even the rare occasions she had spoken with Lord Sesshoumaru, he didn't treat her like dirt, or a speck of nothingness. Inuyasha definitely didn't see them as most masters did. He saw them all as dear friends. He even joked around with them, letting them get the better of him and embarrass him at times. This was something that shocked Sango beyond belief. Even in their old home, she and Kagome treated their master with utmost respect. He wasn't mean to them; he was kind. But at times, he didn't even seem aware of their existence. He, like nearly every other demon, treated his servants like they were just objects. Objects that they bought and owned, and were easily replaced. Demons viewed humans as if they were just a possession, they viewed them the same way they viewed a table or chair, or a lamp, or a simple book. Sango thought it was disgusting...and it was. But it was different for them here. They were treated like living things...like friends, and close friends at that.

"What game are y'all playing, Rin?" Sango asked, finally putting the girl down.

Rin smiled brightly. "Hide-n-seek!" She yelled happily. Then clamped her hands over her mouth. "Shh...he might find me. Then I'll lose." She whispered.

Miroku grinned and chuckled a bit. Then he happened to take notice of the room. It had darkened greatly since they had been in there. He noticed for a while that the sky was growing gray with angry clouds outside, but it wasn't until now he noticed just how dark it had become. He looked out the window, which was hazy and streaked with rain. He watched the lightning as it seemed to sword fight in the distance. He heard the rumble of thunder, and the growl of the wind on the window.

"Oh, great. It's storming." He sighed.

Sango looked out the window to see how bad it was. "It's really dark. I can hardly see in here. I wasn't paying that close attention I guess." She said as she held on to Rin's hand.

They walked out of the room, and were walking down the dark hall, making their way to the kitchen. About halfway down though, a bright break in the sky was seen through a nearby window and a crash seemed to fall right on top of it. Rin screamed and clung to Sango, burring her little face in Sango's black dress.

Miroku glanced at Sango, "That was close. Too close really. I'm surprised it didn't put the power out."

(But since the characters have such amazing luck, and this is my fic...) Another crash was heard and darkness blanketed them quickly. The lights had gone out.

"Damn." Miroku muttered.

Kagome followed Inuyasha, who had his nose in the air and was sniffing at it. She had to admit it was something strange to watch; a boy, sniffing around in the air like some kind of dog...dog? Well, duh, he was part dog demon. She knew that. But this was something she never saw before, and it was quite amusing. He threw open the door to one room, and walked around. She watched at he glared around the room.

"That little brat's in here somewhere." He whispered to her. So quietly, they looked under tables and chairs, behind curtains and doors, inside closets and drawers, and in nooks and crannies. They didn't see him though, and were confused for a moment.

"Inuyasha, I don't see him. Are you SURE he's in here?" Kagome asked.

"Inuyasha glared at her. "Of course I'm sure, idiot! I said he was in here, so he's here." He barked.

"This 'idiot' has a name." She said, anger tinting her voice.

"Feh...whatever." He responded.

"Excuse me? 'Whatever'? I didn't ask for your attitude, so don't get mad with me. All I said was I don't see him, I never said you were wrong." Kagome said back to him, quite irritated with his tone.

"I'll say whatever I want to say to you. If you don't like it, deal with it. And I'll call you whatever I wanna call you. It's you who should watch the attitude. You belong to me, don't forget it." He said, only inches from her face.

Her eyebrow raised at his last comment. "I belong to you? I don't belong to anyone." She said crossing her arms.

He inched even closer. "You forget your place. You do belong to me, I bought you. So you are mine." He whispered, his nose touching hers.

"I'm not just some sort of possession. I'm a living thing, I'm not just a piece of your junk that you can do whatever you want with." Anger rose in her tone as she said this.

He smirked. "You may not be a piece of junk, but I can do whatever I want with you."

She backed up at hearing this. Her heartbeat sped up. She began to open her mouth to say something, when she heard the snapping sound of close thunder. She screamed and jumped a bit. Then screamed again when something large and pink fell down in front of her. The large pink thing suddenly grew smaller, and took on an appearance similar to Shippo's. She looked at it closely.

"It is Shippo!" Kagome thought aloud.

The little kitsune smiled innocently and laughed nervously.

"Why you little-"Inuyasha began as he jumped at him. Unfortunately for Inuyasha, the lights decided to go out at that precise moment after a sharp crackle was heard outside. Shippo dodged his attacker, and scrambled up to Kagome shoulder where he knew he'd be safe.

"Kagome...I'm scared!" Shippo wailed.

"I'll show ya scary ya lil twirp!" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome scowled at him, she knew he would be able to see her face with his good sight. "Inuyasha, be nice, please. He's just a kid."

"I don't give a rat's ass what he is! Do you have any idea how long we spent searching for him?" Inuyasha yelled.

"I repeat, he's just a kid! They run around and hide and stuff. It's what they do!" Kagome retaliated, equally angered.

"Yea, well I wasted my time to go looking for him because you were worried he might be hurt, and here he was, not hurt, hiding on the ceiling!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Well it's not like you were doing anything important! So it wasn't wasting your time!" She yelled back.

"I was too!" He said.

"Like what?" She questioned. Truly curious about what he did do up in his room all the time.

"None of your business." He mumbled, crossing his arms as he said it and poking his nose up in the air.

"It's not like it matters now anyway. Because the electricity's gone out." Kagome said reaching out to find him. She finally caught on to his arm. "Let's go back down to the kitchen. I'm sure the others will be there." She said.

So Inuyasha led them back down to the kitchen. As Kagome had said, the others were sitting at the table. The room was actually light considering how dark it was outside. That was due to all the candles that filled the room with a soft glow.

Sango looked up at the three who entered the room, two of which had a scowl on their faces. "So, I take it you found Shippo?" She asked.

"Obviously." Inuyasha replied with a snort.

Kagome rolled her eyes at him. "Yea, we did. And it seems you guys found Rin." She stated.

Miroku and Sango both nodded their heads.

"It's a good thing Lord Sesshoumaru isn't here tonight. I wouldn't be able to cook." Miroku said with a sigh.

They were all sitting at the table playing a game of go fish. They listened to the sound of the pounding rain as they played the card game. Lightning still danced outside, and thunder still shook the sky, seemingly close. Then, another sound was heard. It sounded like the shattering thunder. But for some reason, it caught Inuyasha and Shippo's attention. The humans looked at them curiously.

"What is it?" Sango questioned worriedly.

"That wasn't thunder." Inuyasha stated. His ears twitched rapidly, and he looked around at the ceiling, almost as if he was trying to pinpoint the location of something. He could hear faint footsteps.

Shippo looked at the elder demon. "Someone broke in." He said in a shaky voice. The others snapped their heads toward Inuyasha. He simply nodded, still trying to figure out where the intruder was. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.

"What's the matter Inuyasha?" Kagome asked quietly.

"They're coming downstairs; this way." He said. "And they aren't stopping by for a friendly visit."

Dun dun dun...o0o...another cliffie. Doncha just love those? This took a couple of days to write. It's been a mess here with all those stupid storms whacking us here in SC. Which is why it rained in this chapter! I guess you could say I was inspired. I swear, it's been raining so much here! We even had a duck in our front yard yesterday. o0 No lie. It was white, and we have no idea where it came from. It's gone now, but still...we were all like, "Where did THAT come from?"

Oh, and I owe Prepare For I Am The Sugar Kitten a cookie. Here ya go! (gives Kitten cookie) See? If you review, you get a cookie. (nods head knowingly) You get special treatment, if only you'd review. (hint hint nudge nudge)


	10. Always Lock the Windows

Disclaimer: Ok, so now, I don't even own Dr. Pepper in a can anymore. But I do have some...in a CUP...yea...but alas! I still do not own...Inu-boy and co.

Ok, let's see...what is there for me to say. (ponders for a moment) Ahh...now I remember...I'm changing the way I spell some of the names. I originally started this and let my sis read it. She knew the spelling that I used to use. But now I'm gonna go with the ones I prefer...such as 'Hojou' and 'Shippou.' Because that's the way I write them every other time. I don't know why I didn't do that from the beginning! o0 do you?

0o0o0o0

Chapter 10- Always Lock the Windows

Everyone sat in the kitchen quietly. No one said a word. Every one of them had a fear in their eyes, and uncertainty that was clearly seen. An unfamiliar person was walking around the house; and this person meant them harm. Shippou had jumped up onto Kagome shoulder, hidden behind her raven hair. Rin held tightly on to the hem of Sango's dress, her little face buried in the black fabric. Inuyasha and Miroku stood by the door, waiting for the intruder to come close enough to the door. All they would do then was attack them. Simple, right? Two strong males against...whoever it was on the other side of the door.

The person was coming closer, and now Kagome and Sango could hear the light footsteps. The two elder girls shoved the children over and into the pantry, keeping them out of harms way if something did happen. Kagome and Sango stood behind the guys, waiting to see what would happen next.

Kagome then felt a strange sensation. Nothing strong, just a little tingle. Miroku looked over at the girl, and he knew what it was.

"You feel that?" Miroku whispered to Kagome.

She nodded her head in reply, wondering how he knew.

He looked at his close friend beside him. "Inuyasha, you might want to stand back." Miroku whispered.

Inuyasha had a puzzled expression on his face. He looked slightly insulted. "Why?" He asked.

Miroku turned to the door for a moment, watching it as he spoke. "The person that's on the other side...is Kikyou."

"Is what I felt...was that...her magic?" Kagome asked.

Miroku nodded his head. "Indeed, that is what that sensation is. Since you have powers, you can feel others who have similar powers. The only reason you don't feel mine all the time is because you've gotten accustom the feeling of my magic."

Sango ran over to the counter and grabbed all the knives she could scrape up without cutting herself. She handed some to Inuyasha, and kept some for herself. She wasn't going to let Kikyou hurt her friends. No way.

The footsteps suddenly stopped. Then, before any of them had any idea as to what happened, a huge force splurged through the wall. All four of them were blown back by its strength. The wall lay in ruins on the floor, and they were all buried under the rubble. As they climbed out, the dust settled and they saw the figure of the young woman who had attacked them.

Miroku was the first to rise from the rubble on the floor. "What do you want, Kikyou?" He asked angrily.

She laughed, holding her hand up to cover her mouth in a polite manner. "Why, Miroku...you seem quite upset with me. Are you angry because I destroyed your beloved kitchen? I know how much you enjoy preparing meals. Though I don't know why. Do you actually like being a servant to these _dogs_?" She asked with seething hatred. Anyone who actually enjoys being a slave deserved to die. Anyone who enjoys the humiliation, the work, and the cruel treatment...they were just as bad as the demons that believed in such acts. They should die. They would die. Kikyou would make sure of that.

Miroku's eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Kikyou, have you come simply to destroy my kitchen?" He asked mockingly.

Her brows furrowed in anger. "If you think that is the only reason for my being here, you truly are without sanity. You fool, surely you know that I have come to kill. I should do away with everyone in this house. You are all pathetic." Her posture became more confident and she continued. "You and that girl, Kagome wasn't it? Both of you could help us gain our freedom. Yet you choose to live here as servants." She turned and looked towards Sango. "That girl is no better. I can tell she is physically strong, and yet she also chooses to stay here, denying the destiny she could have...to help us all. Hojou is also pathetic. But I'm not sure that he would have enough sense to help anyway." (haha! I even have Kikyou crackin on Hojou) She stopped for a moment before turning to Inuyasha. "And you, hanyou, are the most disgusting of all. You and that mutt brother of yours. Both of you, buying servants without a care in the world. Simply because...you can."

Inuyasha watched her intensely; he could feel the energy rippling off her as her power flamed around her. She was mad...really mad. That's the only reason he could see her aura so well. If she weren't so mad, her aura would have been very similar to Kagome's. He found it strange that their auras were so much alike.

Kikyou raised her hands and held them up so that the blue balls of energy swirled closely to her shoulders. "I will kill you all...right here, right now." She began to throw them when a knife flew past her head, catching her off guard. The blue lights faded quickly.

Her eyes flashed with utter hatred as she glared at Sango, the one who threw the blade. "You..." She growled.

Her aura crackled around her, so much that even Kagome and Miroku were able to see it glowing furiously. Kikyou stepped closer to Sango, and the girl inched back, dropping the knives she held to the floor with a clatter as Kikyou bore her eyes into Sango.

That's when Kagome flared. At seeing her friend in danger, her powers rose within her. "KIKYOU!" She yelled.

The elder girl turned her attention to the younger. Kagome felt her power emit from her fingertips, and she held a light in her hands very similar to Kikyou's, except hers was a faint pink.

"Leave her alone!" Kagome yelled, holding her hands out in front of her. The power surged from her. Her hair flew back and she felt the ground shift beneath her as pieces of nearby rubble cracked and rose around her powerful wind of energy. The huge ball flew at Kikyou, and the others in the room brought their hands to cover their eyes because the light was so bright.

Kikyou frowned. 'She's powerful.' She thought as she jumped out of the way of the blast, nearly getting away. Her leg was injured though, and crimson fluid seeped from the wound in her leg. Miroku gaped at Kagome's power. Never had he seen such immense powers before. He watched as Kagome's spiritual powers snapped and curled around her. Her hair and clothes flowed in the wind of energy that whirled and rippled around her.

"Leave now. Or I'll kill you." Kagome said, her voice tainted with disgust and hatred.

Kikyou stood on the other side of the room, she could also see the strong aura, and decided she should leave. The young girl's threat was not idle. Kikyou glared at those that stood in the room. "I'll be back. Just remember...next time," Her glare turned into a wicked smile, "lock your windows. Open windows are quite simple to get through."

The four standing watched as she walked out of the side door.

0o0o0o0

The events of the night settled uneasily in the stomachs of the four teens. Shippou and Rin watched them cautiously, not sure what to think. Kikyou had been their caretaker, their protector, and almost like an older sister that nagged you all the time. They had never expected this of her. They never thought that she'd actually try to hurt someone. Rin had been especially close, since they were the only two servants in the house, and Kikyou had practically raised her. Shippou was close to the woman as well, but not as closely as Rin. Even still, he was shocked by her actions. She had taken care of him for many years. As long as he had lived in Kouga's house, she had watched over him. It was strange for them to see someone turn so quickly. This was the first time they had witnessed...betrayal.

Sango looked at the quiet people in the room. "Who on Earth did she come to kill? Inuyasha, or Kagome and Miroku?" She thought aloud.

The others looked at her questionably. "Maybe both." Miroku replied. He looked up at Sango. "Or maybe she was just after all of us. She told us that if we didn't join her, she'd kill us."

Inuyasha watched the two discuss it, then looked over at Kagome, who seemed deep in thought. She felt his stare, and turned to him. She smiled, hoping to make him stop looking at her with...whatever that look was. She herself couldn't read his expression. It reminded her somewhat of...sympathy, maybe?

"It'll all work out guys," Kagome said reassuringly. They all stopped and looked to her as she continued. "Kikyou will be stopped. I don't know how, but she will."

Sango smiled at her friend's optimistic attitude about all of this. "Yea. You're right. I mean, who's gonna go along with her? No one in their right mind would! She's crazy! She'll get caught before she does any serious damage."

Miroku was the one to burst the girls' bubble. "But she already _has_ done serious damage. Killing Kouga brought on a lot of problems for Lord Sesshoumaru and the rest of the business district. You all know that. And now she was after all of us, simply because we did not agree with her. She will find followers. Either they will fear for their lives and join her, or they truly do feel the same way. If someone doesn't stop her, all demons may die at her hands."

They all looked at him solemnly. He was right. She was out to kill anyone who was a demon, or wasn't going to kill for freedom. None of them knew how to stop an enemy like that. Demons couldn't defeat her; she could take them out easily, it was child's play to her. Humans didn't stand a chance either; they were worse off than demons when it came to trying. That only left those like her, those like Miroku and Kagome. But how many would refuse to help Kikyou, and join up to stop her? Probably not many, because most of them would believe in her cause. Freedom...something that was wanted by every servant, and most would to anything to gain it. Miroku and Kagome had morals. But how many others like them out there would too? Not only that, how many would live by them as Kagome and Miroku had. Chances were getting slimmer and slimmer. The thought flooded the teens' minds. What would happen? Would their freedom really be gained? What would become of the demons? They had all lived in peace at one time. Or rather the humans lived in peace and the demons hid in the shadows. Which is why they retaliated to begin with; they were tired of hiding and not being able to live freely. But could peace possibly happen between the two after such differences?

0o0o0o0

Ok people. That was a little shorter than I wanted it to be. But I figured that would be a good place to end it for now. I'm still trying to get all my ideas together for the next chapter. So, you know what to do...go on...press the button...ya know ya wanna...REVIEW! Also, if you have any questions about anything, please do ask me. I don't think this is confusing, but my little sister was reading it and had a few questions. So ask me if you wanna know anything...I AM ALL KNOWING! -- ok, maybe not, but it's fun to say, you should try it sometime. OH! Another fun thing to do, is when you're in geometry class and coloring in stupid shapes like you did in, what...2nd grade...yell out that you're Picaso...or...however you spell it. I should know this too, I love art-agh! I'm pathetic! (shakes head) ok, just pretend I'm sane for a moment, please?


	11. Quite A Welcoming

Disclaimer: I uh...(looks around to make sure no lawyers are around) OWN INUYASHA!!! (lawyers start popping out of bushes) oops O.o (runs for her life) OK OK! I LIED!

Sorry guys, I know it's been a while. We just have all these tornadoes and junk in SC, it's a mess. In school today we sat in the hall for about an hour cuz there were 2 in the area. Then there was another one right before school let out, but later they decided it was just a 'severe thunderstorm warning' and talking about how there might be hail and that they could release us. So they were gonna send us out into balls of ice flying at our heads...how comforting. Luckily, there was no hail. But it was raining real badly, and my friends and I got soaked -- yea, not the highlight of my day. And they're saying this'll go on for a few more days, at least until the hurricane gone. I know I'm complaining a lot, and what's going on here is nothing compared to Florida. So to those that are there, or have family, you're in my prayers.

Chapter 11- Quite A Welcoming

Kikyou had been gone for a while. Both the children slept on the girls' laps. No one spoke a word.

The sun was starting to rise and they could see the light shinning on the hall floor through the most recent hole in the wall. How would they explain that hole in the wall? There would certainly be questions, lots of questions. They would have to explain it all. They wouldn't be able to lie, because Sesshoumaru would see right through it all. Meaning he would find out about Kikyou's miko powers. Would Sesshoumaru question further, asking about them? What would he do if he knew of Kagome and Miroku's spiritual powers? Would he kill them? Kagome had already been through the fear of question. Luckily, Inuyasha was, surprisingly, understanding. Would Sesshoumaru show the same mercy though? They would have to wait until the lord returned before they were sure. So they waited.

0o0o0o0

Sesshoumaru and Hojou were standing on the hall side of the would-be-wall gaping at the 'revision' done to the kitchen. Slowly, Sesshoumaru lifted his head to look at the fully awakened teens sitting on the kitchen floor with rubble scattered around them. He didn't have to ask. They knew the question that was coming.

Hojou looked a bit confused. "Oh dear." He started, receiving glances from the others. "I could have _sworn_ there was a wall here..." He said, putting his index finger to his chin, appearing to be in 'deep' thought.

"There **was** a wall here, you fool." Sesshoumaru said dryly. "Would someone please explain this to me." It was more of an order than a question.

Miroku decided to take a humorous approach. "Well, you see, I decided to expand the kitchen a bit. I just didn't have enough room to prepare everything properly. I think it looks rather...well...the kitchen does have more room now, which is what my...goal...was." He said.

...Glare...

Hojou's head popped out of its cloud. "Oh, so that's what you did! Silly Miroku, why didn't you tell us you were going to remodel? It sure does let a lot more light into the room!" He said enthusiastically.

...Funny stares...crickets chirping...sweat-drops...wind blowing...

"Uh...sorry Hojou. I wanted it to be a surprise. I just know how much you _love_ surprises." Miroku said in a sadistically sarcastic tone.

"Wow, Miroku! I do just _love_ surprises!" Hojou responded, not phased a bit. (He's just so fun to mock. Come on. The guy is a complete idiot! I don't even know guys THAT dense. He's just oblivious to everything! I swear, he's gonna snap someday, and go all psycho. You just watch...you'll see.)

Miroku just shook his head, along with everyone else.

"Now, what _really_ happened." Sesshoumaru asked, impatience lining the words.

Miroku looked to Sango, who looked to Kagome, who looked to Inuyasha. Inuyasha stood up with a heavy sigh. "Well, if no one else is gonna say anything, I might as well tell ya." He looked at his older brother, who was still waiting for a reply. "Kikyou came by, leaving that nice, big, gapping hole in the wall."

Sesshoumaru's expression remained unchanged. "Kikyou," he started, "the servant girl from next-door that disappeared after Kouga, her master's death?" He asked.

The four nodded their heads simultaneously. "She came after us." Sango added.

"I knew she had something to do with Kouga's death. Why did she come after you? Surely you have a slight idea as to why." The lord said.

"We think," Kagome said, finally stepping up, "it's because we don't agree with her opinion." Sesshoumaru eyed the girl. He knew what she was talking about. He wasn't stupid. He knew that Kikyou was out to kill...demons in particular. From what Kagome said, he also gathered that she was out to kill those that were against killing demons.

"Kikyou came after you all as well? So, you didn't agree to join forces with her? You don't agree with killing demons?" Sesshoumaru questioned.

The three servants nodded their heads.

"Why?" Their master asked.

Kagome looked around at her companions. "Well, master Sesshoumaru...it's just...killing demons, it isn't right. I mean, I wouldn't kill someone just because I didn't agree with what they did! That's not fair!" She said, desperation hinting in her voice.

Sesshoumaru looked at the girl. "You're a good person." He said, though no emotion was readable in the way he said it. 'At least I know they're not a threat.' He thought. 'Now, something just has to be done about this Kikyou. How was she able to cause so much damage? No ordinary mortal could do this.'

"How did she do this to the wall?" The lord asked.

Miroku was the one to answer this question. "She has miko powers, sir."

Sesshoumaru's expression flashed for a moment...it looked like...fear. "Miko powers?" He said absently.

Sango looked a bit worried. "Master Sesshoumaru? If she has miko powers, demons are no match for her. The only way to stop someone with powers like that...is with people that have similar powers."

Sesshoumaru took in what the girl said. "Yes, I know. This worries me. How do we get others with powers to do that though?"

"Just ask them." Kagome suggested.

"Ask them? How many of them would **willingly** help demons? All they want is their freedom." Sesshoumaru replied.

"I would." She said back. Miroku looked at her with a 'what the heck are you SAYING?' look on his face.

Sesshoumaru glared at the servant girl suspiciously. "Why would you help? Don't you want your freedom as well?"

"Of course I do. I just don't agree with the way Kikyou's trying to get it." She said with a warm smile.

Miroku stepped forward. "I'd help too."

Sesshoumaru snorted. "That's quite kind of you...but it's not a matter of would you...it's a matter of can you."

Kagome and Miroku looked at each other. "Well, master," Miroku started, "it turns out...we can."

"Oh?" Sesshoumaru asked with a raised eyebrow.

0o0o0o0

"Kagome, I can't believe you're doing this!" Sango squealed at her friend. "I can't believe I'm going with you." She then said under her breath.

It had been decided that Inuyasha would take the three servants around searching for others with miko powers. They had hopes of finding some that would be willing to help. They would do anything to avoid an all-out war. Sesshoumaru, in the meantime, would work with the demon officials to see what could be done to protect others.

"Yea, I can't believe I'm doing it either. Are you sure you wanna join us? It'd be a lot safer here at the house." Kagome asked her friend worriedly.

Sango laughed before saying, "Kagome, you and Miroku are really good friends of mine. I don't want you guys to do this alone. I told you if that woman tried anything funny that I'd do what I could, right?"

Kagome pouted. She knew the answer, and she also knew there was no way to make her friend stay behind.

"Besides," Sango added, "I can't let you go out with two guys. I trust Inuyasha enough; he won't try anything funny. Miroku...is a completely different story though." She said dryly (I love the expression she gets when she's talking about the monks perverted ways, it's too funny!).

The girls finished packing their small bags. They went to bed early that night, knowing they'd leave early the next day to set out to find helpers. They also knew this would be a complicated task, and they were fully prepared.

0o0o0o0

Ok, that was that chapter. Another serious one. But it needed to be done for the story to progress! And I worked very hard on this one just for **DramaQueenABZ**, cuz she left a very sweet review. And so I was like, "Aw...that made me feel better!" So I decided to get up off my lazy butt and type this up! So, follow her example, and leave one for me! LY!


	12. Checking In

Disclaimer: (Glances over at big, evil, lawsuit people) Ok, so I **don't** own Inuyasha, but I will. You just watch. SOMEDAY!!!

Ok, so lazy me has been going around reading other fics instead of updating my own. So I deiced to not be lazy and get to work on my own hehe, this one will have more humor, trust me. I put them in a hotel. You can have a lot of fun at hotels-I would know. Hotel people fear me. MWAHAHA!

Chapter 12- Checking In

Kagome and Sango woke up before the sun rose. The two girls got dressed quickly, and somehow managed to walk up the hall to the kitchen. They dragged their feet through the door, only to be greeted by an impatient hanyou.

"It's about time you two got up! Really, I was about to send Miroku in after you guys!" Inuyasha yelled. Unfortunately, the young servant girls didn't take in a word.

Kagome lifted her head to her master. "Huh? D'ja say som'n?" She yawned and picked up the cup of hot chocolate that was sitting on the table for her. Need I mention again-HOT-chocolate. She lifted the steaming milky liquid to her lips to drink some. Boy, did that wake her up. Kagome's eyes jerked wide open. "HOT! HOT! HOT! HOT! OMIGOSH, MY **TONGUE!**" The young servant girl slammed the drink down and ran to the refrigerator. Assorted items fell out of the door when it flew open, and she rampaged through it looking for a drink.

"My gosh, Miroku, don't you have any water in here?" She yelled, fanning her mouth as well.

The frazzled cook pointed to the sink. Kagome stomped over to it and turned it on, grabbing a cup sitting near by to fill it up. She gulped down the cool water gratefully.

Sango looked at her younger friend then turned her gaze to her mug. "I take it that's hot?" She said; quite awake after the commotion Kagome had caused.

"We don't have time for this. Grab your bags, Hojou's waiting for us." Inuyasha growled before stomping out of the kitchen. The three that were left looked around at each other. Miroku shrugged and they followed after him as he left the room as well.

0o0o0o0

Sango and Kagome had their faces plastered to the window of the car. They had never seen the city before. Well, not counting when they had been purchased. The city buzzed by and lights were still burning in the early morning's darkness. People wandered around the streets; some were going to and from work with the early shifts, others were the partygoers who were wandering around from club to club until the doors closed.

The car finally pulled into a parking lot. They all stepped out and the girls looked up at the huge building that stood before them. Their jaws dropped at the size of it. The place was amazing. It had fountains with purple lights shining in the water along the side of the stairs leading to the entrance. Huge violet lights crowned the enormous building. 'Shikon Suites' was the name of the place.

The girls snapped out of their daze when they finally reached the entrance.

"Hello?" An irritated voice asked. "Are you coming or not? We gotta put our junk in our rooms, then we'll eat. By that time it'll be light enough to go looking for people." Kagome and Sango followed their master inside.

They walked up to a desk where an old demon sat. "Eh? Inuyasha! It seems you have come for a visit my lord!" The man said enthusiastically.

"Shut-up geezer! I want the best room you got Totosai, understand?" Inuyasha responded.

The man nodded. "Of course. How's the top suite?"

"Yea, whatever. It'll do fine." The hanyou waved his hand absently.

"And what about your companions? Ah, I'll just give them the room next to yours. It's about the same size and meant for the same thing." Totosai muttered.

"Just get on with it old man, I don't got all day!" Inuyasha growled.

"Patience, we lack patience young man." Totosai led the four up to the top floor, which was where the two rooms were.

'This is strange,' Kagome thought, 'I wonder why there're only two rooms up here. This is a nice hotel with a great view! Something about it's so...romantic. I bet a lot of couples come here.' Her face dropped as they stepped out of the elevator in front of the rooms. "Uhh...Totosai" The girl said with uneasiness sewn in the words.

"Yes, young lady?" The old man said turning to her.

"If there's four of us, why do we need to rooms? Aren't the rooms large enough for all of us to just stay in one?" She asked.

The old man looked at her strangely. "Well, the lord asked for the best suite. Seeing as the best suite would be the honeymoon suite-"

"WHAT?" The four teens yelled in unison.

Inuyasha clenched his fist. "Idiot. Do any of us look like we need to be in a _honeymoon_ suite?"

"Well there's two of you men and two young women! What else was I to think?" The older man retaliated.

"They're my slaves you dumb-ass! They're humans, can't you tell?" The irritated hanyou spat in Totosai's face.

"Oh? just servants?" He said. "I thought maybe one of the young women was your concubine or something."

Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Excuse me?" Anger flared around him. "Do you actually think I'd stoop that low!"

Totosai sighed heavily and shook his head. "You know you're going to have to share a room with one of them."

"Why is that?" A hanyou and two confused servant girls asked, all at the same time.

"Because, fool! If you and Miroku were parading in and out of the same room, what would people think? All the maids and butlers would think you're gay. Would you prefer them think THAT, or would you rather them think you have a servant girl with you?" Totosai said rather smugly for a man his age. The four standing there looked around at each other. 'Oh boy.' Was the common thought spread among them.

0o0o0o0

A familiar slap was heard echoing through the smaller of the two suites.

"Oh, come on Sango. We're in here, we might as well act the part!" Miroku said with a slight laugh.

Sango was blushing madly. "We do not! Let's get one thing straight here, _chef_. Don't touch me. You can sleep on the couch. We'll alternate every night as long as we're here, got it?"

The young man sighed. "Oh, my dear Sango." He slowly crept near her sitting on a couch in the center of the living space of the room. "Why must you be so cruel? I was merely showing my affection."

Sango's eyes were closed in frustration. She turned to him and said, "Well do me a favor and stop. You're methods of showing affection are very-"She opened her eyes, only to be staring into sparking violet orbs. She gasped quickly and held her breath.

"Very what?" Miroku said. His warm breath played on her lips and a grin danced on his.

"Very...very...uh, very...EEP!" As she stuttered, his hand crept up behind her.

"YOU **PERV!**" Another slap echoed through the room.

0o0o0o0

"Wow, this room's got a great view!" Kagome said opening the curtain that covered the window, which happened to take up one entire wall. "I think Sango and Miroku's room has the view with the sunrise. Which means our room is the one with the sunset!" She squealed happily. (Ah, yes, the sunset will come into play later on. I think in the next chapter though.)

"Why did Sango offer to stay in the room with Miroku anyway?" Inuyasha questioned as he opened the drawers to fill them with his clothes.

"She said something about not trusting him with me because he's such a pervert. But I _really_ think it's because she likes him."

Inuyasha smirked. "Yea, well, he certainly likes her...or her butt's more like it."

His servant girl scowled at him. "Get off it!"

"What? It's true. He's always groping the poor girl."

"Do you think he actually likes her? Or just...likes her...body?" Kagome asked.

"I don't know. You know guys live off of hormones. He's just being a guy. But I think he might like her. He gropes her more than any other girl I've seen. And he hasn't asked his infamous question yet." Inuyasha said the last part as if it was some miracle.

"What infamous question?" Kagome asked, not sure if she wanted to know.

"He almost always asked any young women he comes upon to 'bear his child.' I think it's another hormone thing."

Kagome cocked her head to the side. "How come you don't do things like that?"

The expression that crossed her master's face was clearly one of confusion. "Things like what?" He eyed her suspiciously and inched towards her cautiously.

"Things like touching girls. If you guys live off of hormones so much, why don't you do stuff like Miroku does?"

"Because I'm way more mature than that lecher."

Kagome raised an eyebrow at the **obviously** humorous remark. "Mature?" She spat out. "You, more mature? You act like a child sometimes. How can you say you're more mature than Miroku is?" The girl was rolling on the bed laughing.

"I **am** more mature than that idiot! At least I don't go around grabbing girls every chance I get!" The hanyou barked in aggravation.

Kagome tried to hold back her laugh. "Oh? Then maybe Totosai had a point, maybe you are gay!" Tears of laughter streamed down the girl's face as she held her side.

Inuyasha jumped at her and grabbed her wrists, pinning her to the bed beneath him. She stopped laughing immediately and jerked her attention to him.

He leaned down close to her, his nose inches from hers. "Now that I finally got you to shut-up, I am _not_ gay."

"Uh-huh." Was all that she could make come out of her mouth, but she still was able to make it sarcastic.

"What? You still don't believe me?" Inuyasha's scowl turned to a devious smirk. "Do you want me to prove it to you then lil' missy?" He leaned in further, and the space between them was getting dangerously thin. She closed her eyes, waiting to see..or rather feel what he'd do next.

'Yes! Yes I want you to prove it to me! No, no I don't.' Her mind couldn't decide what she wanted to happen. Was he going to kiss her? Would that be his 'proof?' If that was the case, then she did want him to prove it. 'Wait? Am I actually thinking like this? Do I really like him enough to where I'm hoping he'll kiss me?' Something in her clicked and she opened her eyes. His eyes were still looking into hers. She couldn't help but drown in the golden pools.

"Yes." She said, not completely sure if she was answering the question in her head, or answering his question. But did it really matter? Not really, because both would, in the long run, lead to the same thing.

Her master's eyebrow raised. "Yes, what?" He asked, almost as unsure as she was. 'Is she saying yes to what I asked?'

"Prove it." She said boldly, answering both their questions. A playful smiled crossed her lips. "I want you to prove to me that you're not gay."

Inuyasha leaned closer, now to the point that their noses were touching. "I can do that." He said with a grin on his face that somewhat resembled that of a certain chef's.

"Eww! You guys are worse than Miroku and Sango!" A familiar kitsune's voice ruined the moment.

The two lying on the bed shot up faster than a...fast moving thing.

"What are you two doing here!?" Inuyasha growled angrily.

0o0o0o0

Ha Ha! You thought it was going to happen, didn't you? You thought I was gonna make 'em kiss, huh? Sorry folks, not till next chapter. Trust me, I have a good moment all planned out. Now I have a thank you to get to.

**DramaQueenABZ**: I'm glad that you liked the last chapter, yes, Hojou is funny (in many, many ways). But I really want to thank you for the tip! I can use them anytime, and am grateful for it! I'm sure I repeat things sometimes, more so than I realize probably. I'll try to keep an eye out for that. I tried to be more careful this chapter (did I do ok?). And don't worry about vagueness...I am a very vague person, so I think I understand! LoL! 

Ok people, here's where Kae-sama needs you (points finger at everyone reading). Please review!


	13. How To Shut Her Up

Disclaimer: I wonder how often I have to put this up? Do I even have to? I mean, I never remember reading about having to (but then again, I just skimmed over the rules-hehe) Even so—I don't own Inuyasha, or any of the other characters. The only thing I own is the plot (and other various items that I've mentioned in these ever so fun disclaimers)

Wow, another thing that's ever so fun-a/n! I don't think I've ever posted a chapter without one of these little suckers. I do like them though, I feel it kinda puts you on a more...I duno, personal level with the author. Does anyone out there understand what I'm saying? Anyway, I like them cuz I feel like it gives you guys a chance to get to know me a little better! That has nothing to do with why this is here though. The only reason I'm writing this so soon is because we got progress reports today (egads!), and I wanted to get this done in case that 77 in geometry got my computer time taken away (I hate geometry...I hate any kind of math). If I'm back soon, you'll know I'm still able to get on, if not...you may have to wait a while. Speaking of waiting, you're probably sick of how long this is, aren't you? So I won't bother you anymore, here's the chapter!

Chapter 13-How To Shut Her Up

"Eww! You guys are worse than Miroku and Sango!" A familiar kitsune's voice ruined the moment.

"What are you two doing here!?" Inuyasha growled angrily.

The older couple on the bed glared at the younger couple that somehow appeared beside the bed. How did they get there? It was 3 in the morning! What were they doing tagging along? One of the reasons they left so early was to avoid the children (and anyone else who would be watching them). They didn't want to endanger the children at all, which is why they left the house in the first place, and here they were.

"Well," Rin started, "we heard you guys get up, so we went to see what you were doing. We thought you were going on a vacation, and we couldn't let you go without us! So we jumped in your bags! We are good hiders, aren't we lord Inuyasha?" The girl smiled brightly at the flustered hanyou.

"Oh, guys, you two were supposed to stay at the house. We're here on...business." Kagome said gently, trying hard to hide the embarrassment in her voice, though it was quite apparent on her pink tinted face.

The two children frowned. Then Shippou asked, "Well, what are we supposed to do? We want to stay with you guys." The puppy-dog eyes always worked. Shippou knew this was his best way to get to stay, so he pulled off the most sad and innocent face he could muster.

Kagome caved in. "Inuyasha, let them stay, please?" She asked.

Her master pouted at the thought of dealing with two children when the reason he left was to get away from them. "Fine, but they aren't staying in here with us. This is the _honeymoon_ suite after all."

Kagome smiled. "Oh, thank you Inuyasha!" She leaned over and hugged him real quick before hopping off the bed to pick up the children and carry them to Miroku and Sango so they could figure out what to do with them.

'A hug. I got a hug out of all that. Had those two brats not shown up, I could've gotten a lot better than a friggin hug!' Inuyasha thought. 'Maybe...maybe later.' He smirked at this thought. 'I'll get something outa this all later.' (Oh...see, I'm sure he thinks things like this all the time. Come on, he is a male after all!) He chuckled a bit, then followed after Kagome and the children.

0o0o0o0

In the discussion of which room the children would stay in, Shippou got quite a few poundings on the head. It was quickly decided that the two younger ones would stay with Miroku and Sango, since Inuyasha would probably kill Shippou within a few hours (or minutes).

"Really, Inuyasha! Do you have to be so mean to him? He's just a kid after all!" Kagome dished it out to Inuyasha once they had returned to their room.

"If that kid wasn't such a brat, he'd get a few less knocks on the head!" The girl's master grumbled back.

Kagome sighed. "Ok, well, the sun's starting to come up. Let's go downstairs and meet the others for breakfast. Then we'll go looking for people."

Inuyasha only glared at her as she huffed out of the bedroom they were staying in. He then got up and walked after her. She was about to walk out of the suite when he tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to face him. "What is it?" She asked, a bit irritated with him.

He seemed a little hesitant. He finally asked in a quiet voice, "You're not...you aren't mad at me are you?" He averted his eyes so he didn't have to meet her dumbfounded gaze.

After staring for a moment she finally stuttered, "N-no. Well, sorta." She sighed. "I'm not _mad_ at me, I just wish you'd be a little nicer sometimes."

He looked up and squinted his eyes. "Are you saying I'm mean?" He didn't seem offended, just a bit angered at her comment.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest (oh, he's so arrogant!) waiting for her to reply. She looked up to the ceiling as if it would give her a good enough answer. "Look, you can be a bit rude sometimes and-"

"Rude? When am I rude?" He jumped in.

"Just now is a perfect example mister 'perfect!'" She yelled in his face.

"Don't mock me!" He yelled back.

"Or what?" Kagome questioned, not really thinking of the many things he _could_ do to her. She was a servant after all; he could kill her for getting smart with him if he felt like it.

He glared at her before giving that ever-famous smirk (yet another sign of his arrogance). "Or what? Now just think about that for a moment. You're mine. I could do whatever I want to you for yelling at me, or for even asking that question."

Her angry glare pierced him like a dozen knives. "I may be another one of your stupid little 'possessions,' but I'm not yours."

Ouch. For some reason, that really hurt him. Whether it was his ego and pride, or truly his feelings, he didn't know. All he knew was he didn't like it. He punched the wall beside her head, leaving a nice crack near the door-frame. "You **do** belong to me. I paid for you, making you mine. If you don't like it, tough."

For a moment she seemed shocked (I would be too if someone punched the wall right beside my head!), then she flared in silent anger and frustration. "Of course **master.** Please, forgive me." The comment was anything but apologetic. She turned and opened the door then walked out. Inuyasha would have stopped her to give her a piece of his mind (again), but stopped dead in his tracks when he thought he saw a tear on her cheek.

'Oh, gods...please, don't let her be crying. Why is she crying? Great, I probably did something wrong. Smooth move, genius.' He silently scolded himself and followed her from a small distance.

0o0o0o0

Seven hours. They had been searching for seven hours now. What had they found? Nothing... diddley squat, zip zada bang, nota. They finally stopped at an ice cream stand to buy some for them all. There was an older woman behind the stand and she handed them their ice cream. When Kagome went to pay for it, her hand touched the old woman's a bit. When it did, a strange sensation went through her.

"You!" Kagome said, receiving glances from her companions. "You're one of us! You're like me!"

The old woman gave her an expression that was unreadable. But Kagome did see the fear that flickered in the elder woman's eyes for a split-second.

The lady resumed to putting the money in the register while saying, "I haven't the faintest idea of what you're speaking of."

Kagome's jaw dropped. 'She does too know!' She shook the annoyed look of her face then said, "I know what you are. I'm one too. So is that guy right there." She nodded her head towards Miroku. "I felt it. I'm not stupid, so why are you trying to lie to me?"

The old woman frowned. "What does it matter. Why do you care? How stupid you are for even bringing it up. Do you know how many demons would kill you if they overheard you?" She asked.

That's when Inuyasha stepped up. "Look granny, we need people that...are like you guys."

"My name, boy, is not 'granny.' It is Kaede. Why do you need me?" The woman named Kaede asked, seemingly peeved.

"There's this crazy miko out to kill all the demons for enslaving you humans! She's also out to kill anyone that tries to stop her. If she finds you with your powers, and you don't help her, she'll kill you as well. You either help her, or you help us." Inuyasha yelled in Kaede's face.

"I didn't ask for your lip, young man. I simply wanted an answer." The woman said nonchalantly.

Inuyasha growled at her. "I have a name too. It's Inuyasha. Lord Inuyasha to be exact, so show some respect, hag!"

"Inuyasha..." Kaede mumbled it before saying, "You're that hanyou, aren't you? Your father was the lord of this region and now your brother rules, am I right?"

Sango leaned over to Kagome. "I didn't know he was only half!" She whispered in the younger girl's ear.

"Me either."

They tuned back to Inuyasha to see his fists clenched, as if he were about to rip Kaede's throat out for even mentioning it. She didn't seem like the type to take any bullshit, because she just stood there looking at his as if he were a fool.

"Don't..." Inuyasha started in a low growl, "ever...mention that...again. Understand?" His gaze was focused on the ground.

Kaede's brows furrowed. "Of course, lord Inuyasha." She then sighed. "I don't know what I can do to help you though. But I will do what I can."

Kagome smiled at the elder. "Thank you. We'll come back tomorrow to talk about it more. You'll be here, right?"

Kaede only nodded before shooing them off. (I think their ice cream melted by now...maybe not Shippou's, Rin's, Sango's, or Miroku's. But Kagome and Inuyasha's sure did!)

0o0o0o0

They had returned to the hotel and were back in their suites. They would still be on the elevators causing trouble, but after some complaints from other visitors, Totosai told them to stop. Obviously people don't like having soap bars thrown at their doors. (Yea, I've actually done that. And people don't like it. One time we were to slow in pressing the button to get away, and a guy came out and started walking towards the elevator...he looked pissed. But then the door shut, so it was all good and we got away. He he.)

Kagome and Inuyasha came in their room laughing so hard tears were rolling down their faces.

"Hey, Kagome, "Inuyasha started, "tomorrow, we can throw poppers down the stair well!" (Another thing I've done. It makes a lot of people mad too. I told you, hotel people don't like me.)

Kagome giggled. "Sure, sounds like fun!" She plopped down on the bed and glanced at the huge window. The sun was setting, so she got up and walked over to the large glass.

The sky looked like a painting. All the colors mingled around the clouds, and in the sun's fading light you could see a silhouette of all the buildings and trees. The sun itself looked huge, almost like liquid in all the oranges and pinks. The clouds were assorted purples and blues, making the effect of the sky even more dynamic.

"It's beautiful." Kagome whispered.

"Yea, it is." A rougher voice whispered in her ear.

A tingling sensation wavered down her spine. 'How does he do that?' Kagome thought.

"It's better in this suite than in your room." The young girl said, unaware of how strange sounding that came out. (I think it sounded strange!)

"Ya think?" Her master asked. "You're impossible to please, do you know that?"

She laughed a bit and smiled. "I'm not that hard to please." She playfully punched him in his stomach.

"Oh yes, you are." He said laughing. He poked her in her side, getting her back for punching him.

She jumped a little and grabbed her side laughing. "Don't do that! It tickles!"

"Hmm, so you don't like to be tickled?" Inuyasha asked her.

"No, I don't, idiot!" She answered.

"Oh, you see. Now I'm going to have to punish you for calling me an idiot." Inuyasha said. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up. Kagome was kicking and laughing, asking for him to put her down. He tossed her on the bed and started to tickle her with no mercy.

"Ah! Stop it! Please, it tickles!" She was trying to kick loose, but he had her pinned beneath him.

"Beg me to!" Her master said while laughing.

"No!" She said. Then she grabbed his wrists the best she could. He stopped. "I don't beg." She said playfully.

"Fine then. You're stuck." He removed his hands from her stomach and placed them near her head so that he was leaning over her. "Because I'm not moving until you beg." The white fangs flashed as he smirked down at her.

She pouted, not liking the position she was in. "Inuyasha, get off me please." She said sweetly.

He leaned down closer to her. "Beg me to." He said mockingly.

"Oh, master Inuyasha, I beg of you! Please, get off of me. Is that good enough?" Kagome said, playing along with his little game.

"No...I think I want to stay right here." He grinned; knowing it would piss her off.

"Don't get too comfortable," she said sarcastically, "I might bite you or something."

Inuyasha laughed at that statement. "What part of me will you bite? You're stuck!"

Kagome leaned up (as far as she could under the circumstances) to the point where their noses touched. "I'll bite your nose, puppy boy."

"I'll bite back." He replied in the same tone.

"You wouldn't." The girl dared.

"Don't tempt me, I might do more than nip your nose." He whispered, wanting to see how she'd react.

Kagome chuckled. "Oh, it's not like you'd try anything in this position. If I'm not mistaken, in my mind, you're still gay."

Not the reaction he'd expected, but it was sufficient. "You still think I'm gay?" He asked in a fake offended voice.

"Of course." She said jokingly.

He sighed heavily. "I guess I'll just have to prove it to you then, won't I?"

"I guess so." She said as if she were disappointed.

He leaned in, nearly closing all the space between them. She closed her eyes in anticipation. But when nothing happened, she grew suspicious. She opened her eyes, expecting to be looking into his. Instead, he was sitting up looking at her strangely.

"Are you sure?" He nearly whispered it.

"What?" Kagome said, surprised that he had asked.

"We both know what's going to happen. Are you...ok with it?" He looked worried, for her more than for himself. It's not that he didn't want to 'prove' it to her. It's just, if someone found out, she would be hated for having a loving sort of relationship with him.

"Yes! I'm sure! I've been waiting for who knows how long, waiting for this evidence, hoping that it wasn't just me that felt this way, and here you are...not showing me, and I'm getting very angry! You ruin the moment by asking a stupid question and then act concerned! Why can't you act like every other guy and just get it over with!" She was blabbering loudly. "But **nooo **you actually have to care! Which is what I want, but you care at the wrong moment! No, wait, I want you to care all the time, but in a moment like that you're just supposed to...I duno, flow with it! Not interrupt and-"

Her blabbering was cut short when Inuyasha grabbed her shoulders and jerked her up to him. Their lips met and the silence was shattering. Kagome's anger left her as she melted into the warmth of him holding her. It was a chaste kiss, not harsh or demanding. It was soft, and she enjoyed it very much. He pulled away and searched her eyes. "Kagome," he took a breath, "shut-up."

She just looked at him, then tilted her head in a childish manner. "What if I don't?"

He grinned. "I may have to shut you up again. That method seems to work."

Kagome smiled warmly and looked out the large window once more. The sun had left the sky and it was now velvet black and deep blue. The stars twinkled like diamonds and the sliver of the moon, though small, shone brightly.

"Let's just watch the stars." She said absently.

He looked at her curiously. He didn't want to rush into anything. They had kissed, that alone was breaking a lot of rules among society. The question in his mind; could they be together?

0o0o0o0

Ok, so I told you they would kiss this chapter. So they did! This is a lot longer than most of my chapters, and I did that just so I could squeeze that moment in there. It took a while to write. LoL. Hey, I liked the way it turned out, do you? Opinions please!

**queenie: **lol, sorry for toying with your emotions last chapter. Are you happy now? I hope so, cuz I am! I've been waiting a long time to get that moment in there! I'm glad you like the story, and thank you for the review! Oh, you actually live in Florida? That must suck. It doesn't seem like a good place to be during hurricane season. I'm only in South Carolina, and we get lots of rain and tornadoes and crap from them all. It's not as bad here where I live now, but I used to live in Charleston, and it got storms coming through there a lot. Hope you guys make it through the season all right!


	14. His Category

Disclaimer: If I DID own Inuyasha and co. do you HONESTLY think I'd be here? No, I wouldn't, so I hope this STUPID disclaimer clears that up...

Grr...I've been really busy lately! I'm working on a CG for a friend cuz she's moving away next month...makes me very sad. I've also been working on like, 3 songs, which is a pain in the butt! I can't seem to get a good ending for any of them! I'm gonna pull all my hair out, I swear! Ok, maybe I won't, but the point is, I've been a bit busy and I hope you can forgive me!

Chapter 14-His Category

The sun was rising and peaking through the mauve curtains, and the warm streak caused Shippou to open his eyes. He sat up and decided since he was awake, everyone else should be too. He crawled over Sango and poked Rin until she stirred and turned to look at him. He put his finger to his lip, motioning her to keep quiet. She nodded and they crawled out of the bed and tiptoed over to the window. Shippou grabbed one curtain, indicating she should do the same; so she did. They jerked them open at the same time and light flooded into the previously dark room.

"Rise and shine!" Shippou yelled. Miroku fell off the couch that he was forced to sleep on, and Sango jerked up to a sitting position. Rin giggled at their reactions.

Miroku looked at his watch and then back to Shippou. "Do you know what **time** it is?" He asked groggily. The two children shook their heads. "It is 7 in the morning."

Shippou scoffed. "Then you need to be up anyway!" Miroku only glared at the kitsune, who smiled brightly when he did.

Sango crawled out of bed and went to the closet where she pulled out a black pleated mini-skirt and white button up shirt (another one of their uniform options). "I'm going to take a shower. It won't take long." She turned and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Miroku sighed, "Why can't she forget to lock the door like Kagome?"

Shippou looked puzzled. "Why don't you want her to lock the door, Miroku?"

Rin giggled. "He wants to see Sango taking a shower!" She fell to the floor and laughed even harder.

"You're sick!" Shippou yelled.

Miroku put up both his hands defensively. "No, no...it's nothing like that (coughliecough). It's just...if there was an emergency of some sort I would want to save our dear Sango. With the door locked, it would be much more difficult. You see what I'm talking about?" He faked a face of concern and the children believed it.

Shortly after, Sango walked out of the bathroom and over to the dresser where she had her brush sitting. She started brushing her hair and then pulled it up in a high ponytail like always. Rin came running over to her and said, "Sango! Here, you forgot this." The little girl handed her the black tie that went with the uniform (I have an outfit like that, and it's really cute! Kinda school girlish looking. Unfortunately, you also look like a waitress...so don't wear it to a restaurant b/c you might get mistaken for someone that works there).

The older girl smiled at the child. "Thank you Rin. Here, let me brush your hair." Sango set the tie on her lap and went to brushing Rin's hair. She pulled part of it into a small pigtail on the side of the younger girl's head. "You look adorable!" Sango said, making Rin smile brightly.

Shippou and Miroku watched the girls giggling. Shippou shook his head. "I'll never understand women."

Miroku laughed and said, "You got that right. They're a mystery to _all_ men." He kept his eyes on Sango though. 'She'll make a good mother some day.' He smiled gently, and for once, it wasn't that lecherous grin that was seen on his face almost all the time.

Rin ran over to Shippou and said, "Let's go eat!" The children ran out the door, and Sango watched them leave as she put on the tie. She glanced over at Miroku, who still had that smile on his face.

"Are you okay?" She asked walking up to him. "You aren't sick are you?" (Yes, he is-sick minded that is-...but she means ill...but I've never asked someone if they were 'ill', so she won't either) She put her hand to his forehead to check for a temperature.

Miroku snapped out of his daze. "Oh, no. I'm fine, just thinking is all."

"Well, what were you thinking about? You had a strange look on your face, it was different than usual."

"Oh, my Sango," he said, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her closer to him, "I was only thinking of how wonderful you'd look in a wedding dress." By now, that lecherous grin had crept upon his face once more.

"Wha-" Sango's face turned a slight shade of red. She jerked her attention to his face. "What are you getting at here, cook?" Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Think about it. We could have lots of children!" Miroku exclaimed.

"We?" Sango asked uneasily. "Whada ya mean, 'we?' You aren't indicating you and me, are you?"

"Who else would I be talking about?" He looked into her eyes with the most serious expression she'd ever seen gracing his face.

Her face grew even redder at that comment. "You're joking!" Sango said, turning away from him. Bad idea.

"Sango, how could you think like that? Surely you know that you are the only one for me." Miroku said, his hand making its way down her back.

"Why you..." She growled, "PERVERT!"

- SMACK! -

0o0o0o0

Kagome was sitting in a chair and putting on her shoes when she saw Inuyasha's ear twitch (lol, he heard the slap in his sleep). She had noticed the ears before, but she'd never seem them twitch like that. She giggled, and it twitched again.

'That's so cute!' Kagome thought. 'I've never touched them before. I wonder if he'd get mad?' She stepped closer and looked at his sleeping form. 'Who cares!'

She reached out a hand and rubbed one of the ears. They were so soft. He shifted in his sleep a bit and she stopped. His eyebrows furrowed and he growled quietly. 'I think he likes it.' Kagome thought. So she went back to rubbing them. The corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smile. 'He does like it!'

She sat down on the bed, which caused him to open his eyes just enough to look at her. Kagome saw this, and stopped abruptly. "Sorry!" She said, "It's just-"

"No. It feels good." Inuyasha yawned. "Don't stop."

Kagome started rubbing his ears again and he fell back asleep, his head sitting on her lap. She smiled down at him. 'He looks like an innocent child when he's asleep.'

Her thoughts were ended when there was a knock at the door. Inuyasha sat up quickly and Kagome hopped off the bed just as fast. She turned to him. "I'll get it, you get some clothes on."

Inuyasha frowned. "Whada ya mean? I **got** something on!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I mean a shirt dummy!"

His mouth formed in an 'oh' before it twisted into a grin. "What, you don't like seeing me with no shirt on? Most girls would die to see this."

The young servant girl's face grew red. "Go!" She yelled, then turned back to the door.

"You have to answer me later!" He yelled from the bathroom.

"He's so full of himself." Kagome said to herself as she opened the door. "Hey Sango! I see you two are up."

Sango and Miroku stood in the doorway. The older girl nodded her head. "Yea, we are. The kids are already downstairs eating. You two coming?"

Kagome looked back in the room to Inuyasha, who had just walked out of the bathroom (with a shirt on now I might add-oh pooh). "Yea, we're coming."

She ran over to her master and grabbed his wrists, earning a questioned look from him. "Come on, we're going to eat breakfast. Then we have to go and meet Kaede, remember?" Kagome explained.

"Oh, is that all?" Inuyasha asked. This time it was Kagome that looked confused. "The way you were grabbing me and all, I thought-"

"Don't even finish that sentence!" The girl hissed. "Now, come on." She pulled him out the door, and they went with the other two downstairs to meet up with the children to eat.

0o0o0o0

The six companions had all finished breakfast and were now making their way down the street to the ice cream stand they had stopped at the day before. They received a few stares and glances while walking though. They also got a few snide remarks thrown at them; none of which went unheard.

"Two demons and four humans. Really, how many slaves do those rich kids need?"

"**Two** demons? Do you not have eyes? One of them is Inuyasha; that **half-breed** brother of Lord

Sesshoumaru's."

Inuyasha growled, but the comments continued.

"Even still, does he need that many _humans_ around him. Don't tell me he's going soft!"

"I bet he is. Must run in the family. You know how his father was. Marrying a mortal woman...I bet he's gonna do the same thing."

"So you think he sleeps with those two human girls?"

"Hmph...wouldn't surprise me a bit."

Miroku grabbed Sango's wrist and pulled her towards him at hearing this, hoping to at least get _her _out of their mocking games.

"Ah, it seems that one's with that guy. That other one must be Inuyasha's concubine."

Inuyasha smirked. He could play along with that. He grabbed Kagome's waist and jerked her closer. She glared up at him. 'He's kidding, right? He's really gonna make them think that I...sleep with him!' She was going to give him a nice hard slap once they were out of sight.

The whispers continued.

"See! What'd I tell you? See the way he's touching her?"

They had finally turned a corner off of the main street, away from all the people with the rude comments. As soon as they did, Kagome gave Inuyasha a piece of her mind.

"You...you...YOU..." was all that was coming out as she shook an accusing finger at him.

Inuyasha's smirk grew even more arrogant, if it was possible. "Me what? Say it...I dare you."

"YOU ARROGANT JERK! How **dare** you humiliate me like that?" The hatred gleamed in her eyes. Everyone was surprised her death-glare didn't burn holes in their master's head.

The hanyou just laughed. "It's pretty simple really. You're strange that way, ya know that?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "Strange what way?"

"Well," he started, "you get all embarrassed and offended when we're out in public and someone says something or something happens. Yet when it's just the two of us..." Inuyasha let the last part trail off, knowing she (and the others) would get the gist of it.

Miroku looked at Kagome and a devilish grin crossed his face. "Why, Kagome...I never knew you had it in you!" Sango elbowed the cook in the ribs after that.

The younger servant girl clenched her fists, trying very hard not to physically take her anger out on a _certain_ master of hers. "Your mind...is about as dirty...AS THE BOTTOM OF MY **SHOE!**" She stomped past him, bumping in to him in the process.

Inuyasha looked shocked for a moment, but not for too long. "Speaking of dirty minds, you still have to answer my question, wench!" He yelled after her.

"ARGH!" Was her only response. That was fine with him, he had succeeded in making mad-which is what he had intended to do all along.

Sango looked at Inuyasha with a peeved expression. "You know, you should try being nice to her for once. I can see why she hates you so much." With that said, she ran off after her friend.

Inuyasha smirked. "She doesn't hate me."

Miroku tuned in on the cockiness of his voice. "How can you be so sure of that, Inuyasha?" He asked.

His master glared at him for a moment, wondering if he could trust the cook with an honest/near honest answer. "I just know. Things happen, okay?"

Miroku eyed his suspiciously. "What kind of things, my lord?"

Even Inuyasha couldn't hold back a blush for too long. "Just...things...It's really none of your business." He turned his nose up in the air, hoping his servant wouldn't ask anymore questions.

"Just be careful. You wouldn't want something to happen." Inuyasha turned to look at the cook as he spoke. "I mean, you wouldn't want what happened with your family to happen to you and Kagome now, would you? People may have respected your mother, but only because she was married to your father. Even then, demons and mortals alike still looked down upon her."

Miroku was **way** ahead of what was really going on. "We're not doing that, idiot!" Inuyasha growled after knocking the cook on the head.

The servant grabbed his head, which was in a good deal of pain today. "My apologies. I was just concerned is all."

0o0o0o0

"Hey, Kagome! Wait up!" Sango's voice reached Kagome's ears and she stopped walking. She turned and waited for her friend to catch up. "You okay?" The older girl asked after she had caught her breath.

Kagome frowned. "No...no I'm not okay. He thinks it's just fine and dandy that he messes with me like I'm some kind of...toy or something!"

"Kagome," Sango tried to calm her friend down.

"Well, let me tell you, I am not a toy! I am a human being who has feelings! What, is that something that demons don't have? Do they not have emotions?"

"Kagome," Sango's voice was a bit louder this time.

"I'm sure they don't, because they sure don't act like it! But he should at least have **some**, after all, he's only half!"

"Kagome," This time, Sango's voice had a slight edge to it.

"Doesn't he care at all? Doesn't he just care a little about how I feel? I thought we were friends! But with the way he treats me, I'm starting to doubt that! After all the things he says, does he honestly think I'll just forgive him and get over it!"

Sango had given up now.

"It's not that simple! Doesn't he know that? He should! Ya know he's never asked for forgiveness...not once! After the name-calling, the attitude, the pranks, the...things he does! He's never said he's sorry!"

Sango sighed, waiting for her younger friend to slow down so that she could get a word in.

"He may _say_ he's sorry, maybe just to mock me...but I don't just want him to say it, I want him to actually _be_ sorry! Is that too much to ask?"

Sango started to open her mouth, but was cut off once again.

"I guess it is. I guess I shouldn't expect anything. Then, when he does do something out of the ordinary, like apologizing, I'll be surprised. Maybe I shouldn't have any expectations of anyone...have no feelings, just be void of emotions. Then maybe I won't feel this way."

She finally stopped. "Let me say something!" Sango yelled before Kagome could open her mouth again.

The younger girl looked to her friend. "Kagome, try to understand this. Inuyasha is a male. Guys have trouble expressing their feelings. Inuyasha falls under a certain category."

"There are categories?" Kagome asked.

Sango nodded and continued. "He's the type that teases to get attention. He's a jerk, yes. But in being one, he's trying to show you how much he cares."

"He's doing a pathetic job." Kagome muttered.

Sango just smiled. "Give him time. He might come around. If not, just get used to it."

The younger servant girl jerked her head up at the elder. "Just get used to it? Is that the best advice you have?"

Her friend shrugged. "You've done it so far. That's gotta mean something."

Kagome opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but shut it quickly when she noticed that the other four had caught up by then.

Shippou and Rin ran ahead of them. "The stand is just up the street guys, let's go!" The kitsune's voice grew fainter the farther he ran. So the four teenagers followed the children to the ice cream stand, where, as Kaede had said, she was waiting.

0o0o0o0

Wow...another (for me) long chapter. Almost six whole pages! Well, I thought it was fun to write. I even had to add my own personal quote..."Your mind is as dirty as the bottom of my shoe." I swear, it's one of my favorite things to say.

So, you know the drill, review please! Oh, and I'd like to wish a happy birthday to Crysie-Poo! She's one of my bestest friends (we even have people convinced we're cousins). Her birthday was yesterday, but since I'm updating today...well, yea. You get my drift.

**DramaQueenABZ:** Yeesh...sorry about the location thing...lol, I'm slowly loosing my mind...someone lived in Florida, and I don't look at my reviews when I'm writing, just when I go to post to make sure I don't leave anyone out, lol! I'm glad you love the story! It makes me happy to have people say that! And don't worry, I won't go past kissing...lol, that's a lil outa my league. And I never thought of the idea you suggested! I'll have to find a way to work that in there...hehe...that would totally piss Inu-boy off!

**Queenie:** you live in Florida! I knew it was someone! I don't remember who I said anything to now...I am going bonkers! Umm...Ok...let's try this...Hope the weather is good where EVERYONE lives...that better? lol! Hope so!

So, review! Ask question, give me opinions, tell me how much you hate typing history notes (GAG! I know I do)...I don't care! I just need to know that people out there are reading this. Otherwise, it kinda takes the fun outa writing. (Ponders for a moment) Ok, not much, I'd like writing just as much...reviews just make it **better**. Love you guys! (Now it _is_ six pages! Lol)


	15. The Council

Disclaimer: Am I the only one that thinks this is getting old? I don't own much, people! And of the things I do own, Inu-boy and co. are not of them...

Ok folks, I'm very sorry! I usually update faster than this, but I've been busier than usual. It's getting to where I actually _have_ to study for German...lol, I'm such a slacker! But people tell me that's what makes me so 'lovable' (along with other qualities I might add). Also, the weather's not helping much either. We had to sit in the hall again today (same period as last time-very coincidental) because of another stupid tornado (thanks to another stupid hurricane). I was lying down (along with just about everyone else) and nearly fell asleep! But it wasn't my fault! The hall was warm and I had on this nice jacket that was really comfy, can ya blame me? I think not! Enough of my senseless babbling, that's not what you came to read, is it? Another negative, I'm sure. So here we go!

0o0o0o0

Chapter 15-The Council

The four teenagers followed the two children as they ran around the corner that led to the ice cream vender. The old woman was there, just as she had said, waiting for them to show up. Shippou was jumping up and down, trying to get Kagome to convince Inuyasha to buy more ice cream. Unfortunately, the hanyou wasn't in the mood for breaking out his money today, and instead of ice cream, Shippou got a knock on his skull.

Kaede watched as the two males argued back and fourth between Kagome's head. "Are you here to bicker or do you actually have business with me as you said?" The old woman asked irritably.

Kagome sent one final death-glare to her master before turning to Kaede. "I'm sorry. Shippou's still a child, but Inuyasha still acts like one." She turned to look at him quickly, only to catch a glimpse of his glare that could equally rival hers.

Miroku decided to step in. "Is there any place that we could talk...privately?" He asked as he looked around cautiously.

Kaede looked up the street, making sure they weren't being watched. She then locked the lid on the slide cover of the cart and pushed it up against a nearby building. Her old eyes met with the younger ones as she motioned them to the door of the shabby building. They followed her inside.

0o0o0o0

"I'm a slave for the city. I'm as close to free as a human gets." The old woman explained inside the run down building. The six companions sat around the small table and listened to Kaede as she spoke. She was talking about her past, and they listened to every detail.

Kaede, like every other mortal of the current time, was born into this life of slavery. Her grandmother had seen a different time though, a time before demon rule, a time when demons were thought only to be myths and legends.

Humans went through stages of beliefs, and they always will. There was a period where humans and demons lived together in warring times. Then, slowly, demons began to recede into the darkness, pushed aside by humans. Eventually, they became nothing but a figment to the human mind. Humans began to rely more on technology, and faith finally faded away. Belief in myths, legends and stories of times ago began to slip from existence. Those stories slowly began to trickle into the backs of peoples' minds, only to be brought up on Halloween and for telling scary stories at slumber parties.

Demons grew sick of hiding in the shadows, and were even more disgusted by the fact that their existence was unknown to most mortals. Those mortals that did know, tried to hide the evidence from society, covering it with 'scientific explanations.' This caused an outburst from the demon race, one that could not be covered or explained by authorities. People were taken from their homes and families. Many humans died, they didn't stand a chance against the demons. Any mortal who tried to fight it was sent to death. Anyone who refused to work was sent to death. Anyone who disobeyed or stepped out of line...was sent to death. It was that simple.

"But was it really?" Kaede echoed the words of her own grandmother.

The others in the room had sullen expressions. They clearly understood what she meant. Was it really so simple to strip people of their lives and homes and force them to live this way?

Kaede was silent a moment before she began again. "It was not meant to be this way. Long ago, demons and mortals lived in peace with one another. That...is the way it was truly meant to be. Unfortunately, living beings falter. Humans and demons alike have made mistakes; mistakes that have burdened both kinds. It has recently been revealed to me that this way-the life we live now-is not what was intended."

The children had fallen asleep by now, and only the four elder companions listened.

The old woman turned her stone gaze to Miroku. "Have you ever heard of the Council?" She asked.

The young man looked taken aback for a moment before speaking. "Well...I remember vaguely of when I was young my father spoke of it. The Council is made of spirits though, am I correct? It is another one of those legends hidden through time."

Kaede nodded. "It is made of spirits. Higher ranking spirits to be exact. The only way a mortal can connect with the Council members is if they have spiritual powers. Council members are not mortals, nor are they demons. The best way to describe them would be...as angels. They are spirits of those that were once living, and continue to serve their duty to this world."

Kagome looked confused. "What does this have anything to do with what's going on? Or rather what's going to happen?"

"The Council members have been in an uproar lately. They have been ever since demons sought control over humans. As I said, this was not meant to happen. To add to that, there have been strange occurrences that have them even more frustrated." Kaede responded.

Sango spoke up. "You mean with Kikyou?" She asked.

Kaede raised an eyebrow. "Kikyou? Is this the young miko who is murdering demons?"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Keh...yea, that's her. She says she wants to get revenge or whatever. The bitch is crazy." He shut his eyes and leaned back against the wall.

"I can see her reasons behind her actions. That doesn't make them right though. But that is what is bothering the Council most recently. We must stop her." Kaede said those last words in what seemed to be urgency...but there was a hidden sadness that lingered in them also.

"How do we do that?" Kagome asked.

Kaede only stared at the wooden floor paneling. "There is a council member that has offered to help us. He is going to try to aid us in restoring the peace between demons and humans...restore this world, make it what it should be. It will be a lot of work. Are you all willing to do it?"

The four friends looked around at each other, then looked back to Kaede and nodded their heads in acceptance.

"Kaede," Miroku asked, "how is it that you know all of this? You speak of the Council members as if you know them personally."

The woman smiled. "I do. I learned the way to communicate with them from my grandma. The reason you've never learned it is because you are owned and have a master. Since I am owned by the city, I have no direct master to watch over me constantly."

Miroku's mouth formed an 'oh.'

"Well," Kagome said as she squirmed, "who's this member that's coming to help us? When will we meet him?"

Kaede chuckled at the young girl's enthusiasm. "If you want, I can ask him to come right now. It seems you are impatient with these things."

Inuyasha laughed. "That girl's impatient about everything. She obviously doesn't know it's a virtue."

Kagome clenched her fists. "You're one to talk! If I'm two seconds behind on anything you practically bite my head off!"

"**I**...bite **your** head off? Have you ever looked at how you act?"

While the couple argued and debated about that, the subject turned to cruel punishment once Sango and Miroku got involved. Kaede only shook her head disappointingly. As they argued, she 'summoned' the young Council member that was to help them out.

The blue sparking aura of his arrival diverted their attention, and their arguing ended. Once the sparking vanished, they all got a good look at their 'aid.' He opened his eyes to reveal cerulean blue eyes that gleamed brightly when he said, "Hey, mutt."

"Damn." Inuyasha growled.

0o0o0o0

Sesshoumaru sat silently as the man in front of him spoke. He wasn't paying much attention for once. He didn't particularly like this guy. Unfortunately, he was forced to listen to him. The man was the one who was planning on taking Kouga's place in the wolf demon's business. 'He's smart,' Sesshoumaru thought, 'but in a devious way.'

The man appeared to be in his twenties or thirties. Age is a difficult thing to determine in demons though, so the great lord was uncertain. The man rambled on, and Sesshoumaru tried to stifle an oncoming yawn. It slipped. 'Damn oxygen,' Sesshoumaru thought as the man's crimson eyes narrowed at him. 'Oh, wonderful. Now he thinks I was ignoring him.' The lord laughed inwardly, 'Wait, I _was_ ignoring him.'

"Excuse me, lord Sesshoumaru." The man said hotly.

Sesshoumaru leaned up in his chair and placed his elbows on the cherry wood desk in front of him. "Naraku, wasn't that your name?"

Naraku nodded.

"If you think you can handle this large corporation, be my guest. Though you do realize the vast majority of people that rely on you? And you also realize the responsibility that comes with it?" Sesshoumaru questioned. 'It sounds as if I'm talking to a child who wants a pet.'

Naraku smirked. "I believe I have what it takes to do that and more. I can do a lot for this company. I believe I can broaden the supply range, make more products to please the people and companies..."He started talking again. Sesshoumaru started ignoring again.

'If this man doesn't shut up, I may throw him out the window.' He turned his golden eyes to the window at his right for a moment. 'Tempting thought...'

..."Though I do think it's necessary to upgrade the security features we sell, and maybe even-"

"I'll let you have it."

Naraku stopped mid-sentence to look at the ruler. "That's wonderful." He said snidely.

Sesshoumaru shut his eyes when he talked. "Kouga did say to pick the person I thought would do best for this company. You seem most suitable. My secretary will give you the papers. I've already signed where I needed to. Sign them, and bring them back tomorrow and the business will be yours." He stood up to shake Naraku's hand before the man walked out. Once he did, Sesshoumaru plopped back down in his comfy chair.

"Kagura," he said as he pressed the intercom button, "Give Naraku the papers, then, bring me some hot coffee."

"Of course, sir." A smooth female voice replied through the small black box.

A few moments later, a beautiful young woman came through the door with a steaming mug. Her eyes were a dawn-tinted color, and her ebony hair was pulled up in a not-too-tight bun. She walked over and placed the mug in front of Sesshoumaru. The woman then leaned on the desk and folded her arms. "So, you think that Naraku character's got what it takes?"

"Kagura, he's the only one that's stepped up to take it. I think he can do well for the deceased demon's company. He seems educated enough in business, and he has a lot of ideas for it."

Kagura cocked an eyebrow. "Oh," she started, "you think? I believe that you're just too lazy to wait for someone good to come along."

Sesshoumaru's gaze remained un-faltered. "Maybe. But someone had to do it."

Kagura scoffed. "And to think you're the one that rules our land." Her magenta eyes watched the clouds float through the sky. She then stood up and patted out the wrinkles in her skirt. "Well, I have other things to do. Call me if you need anything."

She started walking towards the door and stopped just before she opened it to leave. "By the way," she turned to face him, "has your brother found anything on that miko yet?"

Sesshoumaru only shook his head, "No, not yet. We're still working on that."

Kagura's gaze lingered on him for a moment before she turned to leave, closing the door quietly behind her.

0o0o0o0

Kikyou stood covered by the shadows on the empty street side. She was waiting, and growing quite impatient also. Finally, a hooded figure came into her view. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to make out who it was. It was him; the one she was waiting for.

"It's about time you showed up." She said, her mahogany eyes reflecting the coldness in her voice.

"Hmph. I had things to do. The first step of our plan took a bit longer than expected." The rich, masculine voice replied.

"So it worked." Kikyou stated more than she asked as she turned her gaze to the cement beneath her.

The figure nodded.

"It won't be long." She thought aloud. "Soon, my people's revenge will be had." She turned her eyes back to the man. "And of course, you will be compensated as we agreed."

"Of course." Kikyou could practically hear the grin on his face as he spoke.

"I will leave you now. I mustn't be seen...Not now at least. Come find me when you need me." With that, she turned and left, her raven hair flowing in the wind as her figure slowly faded into the darkness of the night.

The figure stayed where it was. A malicious smiled crossed the man's lips. 'Of course, you'll have your revenge. Then I'll get you out of my way after everything works out for you.' He laughed at the thought that flickered through his mind. He knew officials were worried about Kikyou. Little did they know that she would be taken out, and he was the one they should fear.

0o0o0o0

Hey, hey! Lot's of new characters being thrown in to the mix: Naraku shows up, as does Kagura, Kikyou's back for more mysterious actions, and a certain blue-eyed Council member shows up, and then there's that 'hooded figure.' Oh boy, lots of fun! I apologize again for the wait...this one took a while. WHOA! And so the plot thickens. Also, Kagura is not going to be evil. I really don't think she's a bad guy...I really like her! Stupid Naraku screws her over big time though...I hope he dies...which he probably will (duh). Ok, now to thank the reviewers!

**DramaQueenABZ:** lol, no! I'm not sick of you! I love the fact that you review all the time. It really helps...that's a bit obvious in this chapter. I really need to thank you for the idea! Instead of just making up a character for the Council member, I'll just throw wolf-boy in. Once understandable. And I do get what you mean...hmm...maybe Inu-boy was just in a...good mood for once, maybe he was conned into it, I really don't know myself!

And I just got your other review (hehe, you're a smart cookie) I know, it's been forever, and I'm updating now b/c I'm going outa town this w/e (divorced parents, see dad every 3rd w/e –ugh) And I swear once I get back...Sunday, I'll go check out your fic, cuz it's totally awesome that you've joined! And I'm very flattered that you want my opinion! Lol! That's so sweet! I understand about the whole 'giving away your id on the web' thing. It's a dangerous place out there. So...Thank you, thank you, and thank you a million other times. I can honestly say that you are one of my best reviewers! Lol!

**Ashley:** Thank you for the review! I hate having no power...our water doesn't work when it goes out here...oh how I despise country life, city rocks more, by far! (That was a bit off topic!) But I'm glad you like the fic!

As for you people who have yet to review, please do. It really helps! Till next chappie! Kae-sama


	16. Nightmares

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. But I do own (thinks for a moment)...ok...so I don't own much...never mind then.

Hello, and welcome to chapter 16! Wow, it sounds like I'm welcoming you to a theme park or something...yea; I'm in an okay mood today. Not much is happening, so I'll just get right into the chapter!

Chapter 16- Nightmares

The blue eyed man walked up to Kagome, who was as shocked as everyone else around her. "I don't think I got your name last time." He smirked and his canines glistened, Kagome noticed for the first time how sharp those teeth actually were.

"I'm Kagome. You're...Kouga, right?" She asked shyly.

He nodded in response then turned to the baffled hanyou. "So, mutt...I hope you've been taking good care of my little cousin. I also hope you've been taking care of this lovely Kagome."

Kagome blushed brightly at the compliment. Inuyasha clenched his fists. "What the hell are _you_ doing here!" He directed at Kouga. Before the wolf yokai had a chance to respond though, Inuyasha then turned to Kagome. "And why are _you_ blushing like that?"

"Well," she started, "it's not like you say sweet things like that all the time! How do you expect me to react when he compliments me?"

Inuyasha's scowl turned into a smirk. "I don't **need** to say anything to get you to blush like that."

Kouga's eyes got wide and he stepped in front of the beet-red Kagome whose mouth was gaping. "Exactly what do you mean by that, idiot?"

The hanyou chuckled, "Wouldn't you like to know!" With that being said, he swung his fist up in a punch, planning to knock that stupid wolf right in the jaw...but instead, fell to the floor, apparently missing Kouga completely.

'I know I would've hit him!' Inuyasha thought as he shoved himself up off the ground. "What are you pulling here, you stinkin' wolf!" He growled, glaring dangerously at the smirking demon in front of him.

"Unlike you, I'm not solid...not yet at least."

..._Confused glare from everyone (minus Kaede, she seems to know about everything)_...

"Huh?" Sango asked, finally breaking the silence.

Kaede stepped forward. "This is his spirit. We need to take him to an acquaintance of mine to give him a solid body. Though I may not agree with her magic, it is the only thing we can do to give Kouga a body. Even then, it won't be a true body, but one of clay." The old woman explained.

Miroku laughed. "Like a clay pot! Could we paint him too?" That remark was responded with a glare from Kouga.

"Keh, I'll break him in half then!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Inuyasha," the youngest servant girl growled, "we _need_ his help. You can't go and kill the guy just because you're jealous."

Her master's face dropped. "I'm not jealous!" He said, almost like a child not getting his way.

Kaede grumbled a bit before finally saying, "Are you all coming? I would like to get this done today. I still have business you know."

Everyone in the room looked at the old woman and the arguing ceased.

0o0o0o0

"LOOOORD SESHOOOOUUUUMARUUUU!!! Where are you milord?" The voice snapped the western ruler out of his daydream. He had made his way over to his secretary's desk to ask her something, but she wasn't there, and then he happened to look out the window. That's when he dozed off...standing at the window. Now, the familiar toad's voice grabbed his attention.

"Jaken." He turned around to find the source of the racket.

The little green toad demon was making his way through a number of people. "I came to bring you the papers, milord." Jaken said when he finally reached Sesshoumaru, catching his breath as he spoke.

"What papers?" Sesshoumaru asked dryly, seemingly not very interested.

"If you kept you pretty head outa the clouds for two minutes you might be able to keep up with what goes on in your land." Kagura's voice laced the air in answer to his question. She sauntered over to where the lord and his assistant presently stood. "Jaken," She addressed the demon as she walked up. He scowled back up at her.

Frankly, Jaken didn't care too much for Kagura. He had to admit though; she kept up with a lot. If it weren't for her organization and keen sense of order, the western lands would be a mess. She helped Sesshoumaru a lot more than most secretaries did. In fact, she practically ran the lands behind the stage curtains.

"The papers that Naraku fellow signed...ya know, for control over Kouga's company?" Sesshoumaru still stared at her blankly. Kagura shook her head and sighed. "You met with the man yesterday, surely your power of recall is great enough to remember **that**!"

The great lord frowned slightly. "Of course I remember."

"Then _why_ didn't you say so?" His secretary growled.

"You kept talking. I wasn't going to interrupt you." Sesshoumaru replied smoothly.

Kagura glared at him. "Don't make a fool of me." She turned sharply on her heals and headed towards her desk. "Go...sign some papers or something!" She yelled after she sat down.

'What joy,' Sesshoumaru thought. 'My favorite thing to do.' He then sent Jaken off to get him some coffee, since it didn't seem like Kagura would be willing to. He stood staring out the window for a moment, then turned to enter his office.

After he shut the door behind him, his cell phone rang. He grabbed it off his hip and flipped it open. "Yes?" He drawled.

"We got someone." A husky voice was on the other end.

"Oh?" He asked as his eyebrows rose.

"Yea, some old hag. But not only that, get this, Kouga's friggin **ghost** is gonna be helping us."

"Kouga?" Sesshoumaru's brows grew close at hearing this.

"Yep. Has something to do with 'the Council.' Hopefully we can stop Kikyou before some scene is made."

"Inform me when you start to formulate a plan." Sesshoumaru then heard some voices in the background.

"Kouga wants to know who's taking over in his place." His brother growled.

"Naraku. He seems capable."

More shouts and yells and something that sounded like 'that idiot' and a few 'no's' were heard.

"Gotta go. The stupid wolf's gotta get an actual body."

Sesshoumaru snapped his phone shut and placed it back at his hip right at Jaken came in with his coffee...paper signing time...the highlight of his day.

0o0o0o0

The traveling group walked out of the small building that belonged to the 'witch' that could give life back to the dead. According to her, it was her specialty, and she did it willingly. It was a simple task, one that was done quickly. They walked down the street as the sunlight faded and the streetlights came on one by one. Demons walked happily down the sidewalks, laughing and talking to one another. It was a depressing thought that one woman could end all their lives in an instant if she wished.

Kaede was dropped off at her 'home,' and the others made their way back to the hotel. This led to another problem. Kouga. Where would he sleep? He couldn't stay in Sango's room (she had proclaimed it hers, since she seemed to be the one in charge); there were already four bodies in there. That left the room with Inuyasha and Kagome. This proved to be an even larger problem.

"**NO WAY! **That stupid wolf is **NOT **sleeping in our room, Kagome!" Inuyasha protested.

The servant girl placed her hands on her hips. "Well, what do you suggest we do with him? Do you want to pay for _another_ room for him to stay in?" She asked.

Her hanyou master pouted. "He can sleep on the floor. The guy's not even alive! He doesn't _need_ to sleep! He can stand outside the doors for all I care!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled.

"_Kagome"_ He replied in a mocking tone.

She sighed heavily. This wasn't working. Kouga needed to stay in a room. She had offered the idea of letting him sleep on the couch in the living room, but Inuyasha said no. He didn't want Kouga in their room at all. Actually, he didn't want Kouga near Kagome...at all.

"Inuyasha, at least let him stay in the room. I'm not saying he has to sleep in the same bed as us, or even in the same room." Kagome tried to reason with her master.

"That idiot is not stepping foot inside our suite. I'd rather pay for another room before that happened." Inuyasha spat.

"Then do that." Kagome said. "He needs a place to stay."

Inuyasha was about to protest, but Kagome placed her hand on his arm and said, "Please?"

That was all she said. Inuyasha caved in. "Fine, I'll pay for another room. But **only** because you want me to."

Kagome squealed with delight. She leaned up on her toes and pecked him quickly on the nose. "Thank you!"

The girl was making her way to the door and right before she opened it a hand grabbed her wrist. She turned to face her master with a puzzled expression.

"Can't you come up with a better thanks than that?" He asked grinning.

She rocked back and forth on her heals and looked up to the ceiling as if she were thinking it over. "Better thank you than what?" She asked as her arms slid up around his neck.

Inuyasha leaned down to the point that their noses touched. "I think you have an idea." He whispered.

"Hmm...I may." After saying that, Kagome pressed her lips to his, playing along with his childish games. He pulled away a moment later to take a breath.

"Now, I guess I have to thank you for that, don't I?" He asked playfully.

Kagome smiled. "It would be the polite thing to do."

Inuyasha pulled her closer to make it seem more intimate. Kagome turned her head slightly to deepen the feeling that was flowing through her. Her fingers ran through his silver hair, and unknowingly, the ring she wore got caught.

There was a knock at the door. "_Hey!_" Sango's voice reached their ears. "_What're we gonna do with Kouga...Hello?_"

Kagome and Inuyasha pulled away from each other quickly. A little...too...quickly.

"OWW!" Inuyasha yelled as Kagome went to open the door.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Kagome looked at her hand, then to the door.

"_Are you two okay in there?_"

"J-just a minute, Sango!" Kagome yelled through the door. "Inuyasha, we're going to need help. I'm gonna have to let her in."

"Are you serious? She'll ask why your hand is in my hair!" Inuyasha hissed.

"Well...I'll come up with something! But I have to let her in!"

Inuyasha just stuck his nose up, accepting defeat. Kagome used her other hand to turn the knob. She smiled weakly at the elder girl in the doorway. "Sango," she said sweetly, "we are in need of your assistance. Ya think you can..." Sango stepped in a little further to get a view of the problem, "help us out?" Kagome finished meekly.

Sango's eyebrows rose and she stared at them for a moment. "Y-yea. Umm...just...okay...umm..." She pulled, poked, and prodded at her master's hair, and fidgeted with Kagome's hand before finally getting the two undone. Afterwards, Kagome was rubbing her hand and Inuyasha was rubbing his abused head.

"Okay, now that this situation is under control, what are we gonna do with Kouga."

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha before saying, "Our loving master here has decided that Kouga will get his own room here."

Sango just nodded. "Okay." She turned to leave, but just as the door was almost shut and Kagome and Inuyasha had both released the breath they had been holding for so long, Sango turned back to them. "Just...how did your hand get in his hair, Kagome?"

The younger servant opened and closed her mouth a few times, looking very similar to a fish out of water. "Well, you see...uh, his hair...there was a...knot, and I was trying to get it out. Silly me, left my ring on." Kagome said with a fake laugh. Sango looked confused, but nodded nonetheless, finally leaving and shutting the door.

That evening was quiet. In 'Sango's room,' the children had fallen asleep quickly, leaving Sango and Miroku to play a few card games. The other couple sat around lazily watching TV. After a while, they all settled down where they slept. Sango crept into the bed with the children, and Miroku grabbed the blanket for the couch (against their deal, he never slept in the bed). Kagome and Inuyasha both crawled under the covers of their bed on their separated sides, and sleep eventually enveloped them all and they dreamed.

OOO

"Here, take this ring." An older girl looked down to her younger sister, smiling to assure the younger one that things would be okay.

"_What for? Mama gave it to you." The younger girl inquired._

"_I know. Someday, you'll be able to give it back, Kagome." The older girl said, her eyes glossed over with unshed tears._

"_How? They're taking you away!" Kagome yelled, clinging to her sister._

"_I promise I'll save you. I'll come back and take you away from this life. Then...that's when you can give it back." The older raven-haired girl said between tears._

"_You promise...that you'll come back for me?"_

"_Yes...and remember, Kagome, I love you." The older sister kissed Kagome on her forehead, as if sealing the promise._

_Already the men had come. They were taking away her sister; taking her to another family where they would never meet again. Kagome tried to run after her older sister, she tried not to cry, she tried to show that she was strong, but it all failed as the tears fell and she trembled._

"_Sister!" She screamed._

"_Remember our promise Kagome! Remember me!" Her sister yelled as she looked back from the arms of her captors. _

_Blackness soon took over, and the youngest fell into an infinite darkness._

_Sister._

OOO

Inuyasha woke up due to the squirming of the sleeping girl next to him. He turned over and almost immediately the waves of sadness and fear emitting from her hit his senses. He looked questionably at his young servant girl. 'What could she be dreaming about that's making her so uneasy?' He inched closer to her to study her face. She looked like a scared child.

"Kagome," Inuyasha shook her shoulders to get her to wake up. "Kagome, wake up, please." _Asking_ someone to do something was a rare action for the hanyou, but he couldn't stand to see his friend in this state; so desperate looking. He pulled her up to a sitting position and shook her again. "Wake up! You're having a nightmare!"

Kagome's arms wound around him tightly and she buried her face in his chest. "Don't leave me." She whispered. Inuyasha's ears twitched and his face grew a slight shade of pink. She was still asleep, but that didn't seem to matter, having her say that seemed to spark something in him.

Soon, he felt her tears moisten his bare chest and he looked down to the girl. He placed one of his hands on the small of her back and moved the other to her head, running his fingers through her hair in somewhat of a petting motion. "I won't leave you. I'm right here for you." He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently, and she eased in his arms.

Inuyasha moved so that he was leaning up against the headboard of the bed, but made it so that he was still able to hold her. She slept soundly after that, leaving the dreams behind to rest in her memory until the images surfaced again to haunt her.

0o0o0o0

'So warm,' Kagome thought as she began to wake up. 'So warm and comfortable. I don't want to get up.' She moved a little bit and noticed that someone was holding her. 'Who the...?' She let one of her eyes slide open to view her master, who was still asleep. 'Inuyasha? What on Earth?' She tried to squirm out, but that only made him tighten his grip on her. 'This is great,' she thought, 'just great.' Even still, part of her told her she was enjoying it, and that same part wanted to stay right there. The rational side of her was the part that was guiding her this time though, and she figured she needed to get out of his arms before he woke up. For all she knew, it may have happened in his sleep, and if he woke up, he might not be too happy. Then there was always the chance of room service coming in. That wouldn't be good either, but they weren't supposed to come in until they had left the room for the day, so they were still safe Kagome figured.

"I need you...I need..." The gruff voice drew Kagome's mind away from her thoughts, and directed her attention to Inuyasha. 'He's talking in his sleep?' She thought.

He continued to mumble, and she was quiet so she could catch it all. "I need to be...inside you..."

Kagome's eyes grew wide. 'Who the heck is he talking about?'

"...Kagome..."

The girl's face turned red faster than it had ever before. 'Dear gods...dear gods...he's...he's talking about **me**!' She placed her hands on his chest and after a while of pushing, was able to get away from her warm haven. She quickly made for the bathroom, not really knowing were else to go to gather her senses. She closed the door quietly and leaned against it as she let out a deep sigh. 'He didn't mean it. He was only dreaming. And just because he said my name after it all, doesn't mean he was dreaming or talking about me. It was all just coincidental.

Kagome washed her face off and looked at her reflection. 'Okay...okay...if I don't say anything about it, he won't remember. That way, I won't be put in an awkward situation.' She inhaled deeply and opened the door. She peaked in the bedroom to see if he was still sleeping; he was. She quietly made her way to the dresser and picked out the skirt and button up shirt outfit that Sango had worn not too long ago. Glancing at Inuyasha, she changed as fast as she could and then went into the living area so as not to disturb her master.

She was sitting there lazily when she heard a knock at the door. Kagome hopped up and went to answer it. Sango poked her head in. "I see you're awake. Where's Inuyasha?" Her friend asked.

"Still asleep." Kagome replied. "But come in anyway. Where're Miroku and the little ones?" She asked, noticing that Sango was alone.

The older girl chuckled. "Oh, I think Miroku is attempting to get them ready. We were talking last night and he said he wanted to have lots of kids. So this morning I told him it'd be great practice to get the kids ready."

Kagome laughed at her friend's cleverness. "Ya think he changed his mind?"

Sango grinned devilishly. "I believe so."

"Well," Kagome started, "go get them, I'll wake our dear master up, and we'll meet downstairs for breakfast. Okay?"

Sango nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Later, Kagome!"

0o0o0o0

Whew...that was the first time I've had writer's block. After that dream sequence I swear, I was just staring at the computer, not knowing where to go next. At least I'm done now! I hope it turned out alright! Now for Thank You's!

**DramaQueenABZ:** Yes, Kouga's back and ready to argue with Inuyasha over Kagome. I find the whole thing funny too. And yes, Inuyasha is hot for an anime character. I think it's impossible to be a main character and be ugly in this series. I mean, really, does anyone else notice that? Even half of the bad guys don't look too bad (Bankotsu...yes, very hot. And personally, I think Jakotsu is adorable not hot, there's a difference-in a teddy bear huggles kinda way. Maybe it's because we share similar taste in guys, I duno...hehe. I feel bad for him cuz a lot of people don't like the fact that he's gay.)

Ok people, review please! Oh, and go read DramaQueenABZ's fic. It's good and I promise you'll enjoy it! Outie for now!


	17. Talk Isn't Always Cheap

Disclaimer: Nope…don't own Inuyasha…or any of the characters for that matter. (sigh) Oh well, life goes on.

Author's apology note is at the bottom this time.

Chapter 17- Talk Isn't Always Cheap

The five teens and two children sat at the table in the hotel dining area and ate their breakfast quietly. Sango looked as if she was about to burst out in a fit of giggles. Miroku had multiple bruises from trying to get the kids ready that morning. Kagome was shoving her food down and avoiding eye contact with a particular hanyou master of hers. That particular master looked quite smug for some unknown reason. Kouga wore a confused expression on his face, looking around at all the people acting strangely. Then there were the two kids. They were merrily eating their heavily syruped golden waffles.

Kouga was the one to break the silence. "Why are you all acting so weird?" He asked.

Sango started laughing right then, spitting out the milk that was in her mouth. Miroku looked up with an exhausted expression. Kagome turned red, and was the only one to respond with a 'nothing' while shaking her head harshly. Inuyasha only smirked even more when Kagome said that, and even let out a slight chuckle. Kouga still looked confused. He shook his head and decided to change the subject.

"So, Kagome. I take it you slept well with this…mutt…in your angelic presence?" The wolf youkai asked. Kagome just nodded quickly in response. "And I hope your sweet dreams weren't interrupted," he cast a glance at Inuyasha, who was still smiling smugly. "This idiot probably talks in his sleep and kicks all over the place." Kouga said in a whisper.

Kagome gulped. "Wha-what makes you say that, Kouga?" She asked nervously.

Kouga laughed slightly. "Well, he is a **dog**, isn't he? Have you ever seen one sleep? They growl and kick around like they're chasing after some prize!"

Kagome's face reddened significantly. "A prize, huh?" She mumbled.

"So, Kagome," the girl's head snapped up at hearing her name, "do I talk in my sleep?" Her master asked. The question seemed innocent enough, but she could tell by the arrogant smirk on his face that something was up. She narrowed her eyes at him and bit her tongue.

"Occasionally you do." Kagome answered cautiously.

Inuyasha leaned across the table a bit. "What kind of things?" His canines glistened when he asked.

Did he think she was some kind of idiot? Surely she wasn't going to tell him about what he said. Why did he even care? He's not acting as if he's trying to find out to make sure he didn't say anything stupid or revealing. Well, he **did** say something revealing, but not in am embarrassing way. Maybe…maybe he knew. What if he did it on purpose? He wouldn't. Kagome narrowed her eyes even more. 'He would.' She thought as she looked into his eyes, which seemed to be mocking her in a way.

Kagome leaned back and smiled at the hanyou. "Last time I heard you talk in your sleep, you said something about pink bunny slippers and yellow daisies dancing all around. There was another time you were mumbling about pina coladas and coconut bras."

"**I never said THAT!**" Inuyasha yelled, nearly falling across the table.

"On the contrary. I think someone needs a vacation. Hawaii, maybe?" The raven-haired girl asked tauntingly. There was no way he was going to get the better of her. No way.

Shippou watched this all in mild amusement as the others sat laughing their heads off. "I heard him talking this morning."

Kagome stopped laughing immediately. Even Inuyasha turned his attention to the kitsune youkai.

"You were awake Kagome, I heard you." The child continued.

"Shippou," Kagome started nervously, "when did your hearing get so good?"

The mentioned boy puffed his chest out proudly at this 'compliment.' "I've always had good hearing. It's in the genes I guess. My dad had really good hearing. At least that's what others have told me. So did my mom. The gods blessed me!"

Kouga rolled his eyes at his cousin's blabbering. "Stop boasting! Nobody cares! Why are we even talking about your 'wonderful' genes anyway?"

"Oh yea! I heard Inuyasha talking in his sleep this morning. He said something about needing and wanting to be inside of-agh…umph!" His sentence was cut short by a certain hanyou's hand.

"Don't…say…another…word…got it, kid?" Inuyasha threatened harshly.

Shippou moved his head up and down in a nodding motion the best he could under the circumstances. Kagome let out a silent sigh that she had been holding almost the whole time Shippou had been speaking. 'That was close. Too close for me. Thankfully Inuyasha stopped him.' Her brows neared at that thought. 'Why did he stop him though? Earlier he was wanting me to tell him what he said, but when Shippou up and offered, he shut him up.' He was playing games again. The girl quirked an eyebrow and her brown eyes set on him. 'He wants to play games, eh? Well, that's fine with me. But this time, let's have _you_ be the pawn…'

"…Inuyasha" The said hanyou turned to Kagome. His face dropped. She looked really calm…too calm. 'This can't be good.' He thought as she laced her fingers together and her chocolate eyes bore into his amber orbs. "Shippou's right, you were talking in your sleep this morning. I thought it was rather interesting too." Her eyes never unlocked with his as she continued to talk in her smooth voice. "You said that you needed, and wanted, to be inside me."

The hanyou looked at her nervously. She was saying all of this way too calmly. He didn't like the way this was going. Why wasn't she getting flustered? Why wasn't she hitting him? Why was she just saying it as if it were no big deal?

"Inuyasha, why would you say that? Do you _really_ mean it?" Kagome stood up and slowly walked over to where her master was sitting. Everyone's eyes followed her movements and Inuyasha's reactions. "Do you really want me?" Her nose was touching his and he gulped hard. This was backwards! He was the one that was supposed to act this way; all cocky and assured. Why was **she** doing this?

The girl reached up and placed a delicate hand on his chest, making his heart pound faster. If he had something to say, his words would've been stuck in his throat, because at the moment, he couldn't even utter a sound.

Kagome continued. "I take that silence as a 'yes.' In any case…" That's when she shoved him…hard. "you can't **have** me!"

Inuyasha fell backwards in the chair and landed with a thud on the ground. He was stunned for a moment, but his senses came back quickly. "Wh-what the hell was **that **for!" The angry hanyou yelled at the servant girl.

"You're sick." She said quietly. "You knew, you knew the whole time. You didn't say that in your sleep! You said it when you were awake, and you were planning to embarrass me in front of everyone, weren't you?"

Kagome was mad. No, she was furious. And she went on.

"Did you not think I would figure it out? You're such a jerk! I try so hard to be nice to you, so hard to take care of you, and this is how you repay me?" She was on the verge of tears now, and everyone watched with open eyes with slight surprise and amusement.

"You don't care, do you! You really don't care, and I do! Gods, you don't get it! You…are so…blind." She turned on her feet quickly and made her way through the crowd that had gathered and headed towards the elevator.

Those last few words of hers echoed in Inuyasha's head. They stung. He was blind, wasn't he? But, couldn't she tell when he was just playing around? He didn't mean to hurt me, he didn't mean to make her cry, he didn't mean to upset her like that. His white ears folded back against his skull and he hung his head.

Sango was the first to break the heavy silence. "Ya know," she directed at Inuyasha, "now would be a good time to go after her and apologize."

Shippou hopped up on the brown haired girl's shoulder. "Yea, you were a real jerk! Go apologize to her, she deserves it!"

Inuyasha snapped his head up and glared at the two. Where they really saying this whole thing were all his fault? (Well, yea, b/c it is, but he doesn't see that) He didn't say a word to them as he stormed off after Kagome. Sango and Miroku only shook their heads, Shippou and Rin were picking up the chair pieces that had scattered on the floor and Kouga…still sat there…confused.

0o0o0o0

Inuyasha stepped out of the elevator and stood momentarily in front of the suite door. 'What am I gonna say?' He thought. 'I could just come out and apologize. Yea, I'll just do that.'

He turned the handle and stepped inside the room. She wasn't in the living area; she was probably in the bedroom. He walked quietly to the room where he found her staring out the large window. He walked up to her, but not too close, he didn't want to invade her space at the moment.

"I…I…I'm…sorry." He finally said.

Kagome didn't move from her spot at the window. "Don't say it…if you don't mean it." She said quietly, almost in a whisper.

"But, I do mean it! Why would I say it if I didn't mean it?" His anger rose at her comment.

"Sometimes people just say it, so they can say they said it. Words are cheap; they don't mean anything." Kagome said sadly.

Inuyasha's anger melted when he sensed the hollowness in her words.

"People…say things but, they don't mean it. Empty apologies, empty promises, empty words…I hate people like that." She fiddled with the ring on her finger. The stone on it glistened in the morning light that was coming through the large window.

"I wouldn't lie to you, Kagome." Inuyasha assured her.

Empty promises. _"I promise I'll save you…"_

Empty words. _"Yes, and remember, Kagome, I love you."_

0o0o0o0

Kikyou stood staring out the window of the little house that she was staying in. A man in a dark coat stood beside her. "I know why _I'm_ doing this, but why do you want to do this? You have yet to tell me." The man said.

"I made a promise to someone. No one deserves to live like this…no one at all. I don't know where she's at…but I have to save her…I promised her."

Promises; so easy to make, so hard to actually keep. Like words, they're cheap; they're never really true. They fill people with false hopes and dreams. Always remember the promises you make, and always remember those you make them to. Remember the face, remember the name, and remember the voice that rings in your head. Someone out there has not forgotten what you said.

Kikyou looked out the window at the sun that continued to creep over the horizon. A child's face fogged her mind, and the little girl's echoing words lingered in her ears. _"Remember our promise…! Remember me!"_ The woman couldn't put a name to the face. Why couldn't she remember who it was? The girl…she knows she made a promise to the little girl. Yet that face seemed so familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere else besides her dreams. She felt almost as if she were breaking the promise she had made.

Kikyou looked to the man that was standing near her, appearing to be in deep thought about something. Did **he** have something to do with all of this? Her intuition was telling her he was part of her problem…and we all know that intuitions usually don't lie to us.

0o0o0o0

I'm very sorry people. My computer's been on the fritz and we're trying to fix it. It's been next to impossible for me to get on the computer, and getting online is even tougher. I know it's been about a month, and trust me I feel horrible about it. This chapter isn't as long as they usually are; it's not even four whole pages! Ugh! I hate this! All in all, what I'm trying to say is; it may be a while before I'm capable of updating again. I repeat myself- I'm very sorry. And since I feel so crappy about all of this, any reviews would be appreciated…from anyone.

And for those who are curious, the only reason I am capable of updating right now, is because I'm at my grandma's house for Thanksgiving break. I may even try to get the next chapter typed up.

**DramaqueenABZ**: I can't even remember what was in the review you last left me. Everything's been such a mess here. I hope you understand, and I thank you for it. I'll try to get the computer thing figured out and fixed, just so I can continue. LoL! Thanks again!


	18. The Truth Unravels

Disclaimer: Don't own the gang…but I do own some cute new pj's!

Okay, in this chapter, we finally find out who is working with Kikyou. Most of you have probably figured it out by now, but he is unveiled. Also, the pieces of a puzzle come together. Have fun, and see you at the end of the chapter!

Chapter 18- The Truth Unravels

Kikyou had not moved from her spot by the window. The man with her had left almost an hour ago. 'Thank goodness,' she thought, 'something about him…I don't trust him.' (Makes you wonder why she works with him, eh?) She finally broke her gaze from the birds hopping around in the yard and slumped on the couch that was in the living room. She looked up, staring at the high, chapel-style ceiling. "Why does he want more?" She questioned out loud.

The raven-haired girl went to fidgeting with a few papers and magazines on the table near her. "He already has enough. He's the owner of about 8 companies, and about to take control of another. Why does he need them all?" She mused on these questions a bit, and then the telephone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

Kikyou leaned across the couch and picked up the phone. "Onigumo residents, whom do you wish to speak with?" She hated saying that, but that's the way a slave had to answer. Not that she was a slave anymore, but people might get suspicious if someone else were answering the phone. You see, the man lived alone and if anyone other than him answered the phone, people would get ideas.

"Sesshoumaru just left. He's on his way home right now. I heard him say something to that kid driving that he wanted take out." The husky voice dragged on. 'Come to think of it,' Kikyou thought, 'take out sounds good right now…'

"Kikyou!" The voice yelled. "What?" The woman answered venomously. "The boy will be out getting food, meaning Sesshoumaru will be there alone." Kikyou still didn't care. What was he getting at? 'Oh boy, the lord will be at his home alone, hope he's not scared of the boggy man.' She thought sarcastically.

She could tell by the silence that he was irritated. That fact only made her smirk. "It means you will be able to kill him with no distractions." The man said. "Fine," Kikyou said, "I'm going now, is that all you want me to do?" She asked, making sure he wouldn't send her on any more assignments. "Yes, that is all. Good luck." With that, he hung up, leaving Kikyou with the dial tone.

"Good luck?" Her chocolate eyes narrowed. "You don't get luck from killing people, that only brings bad karma." She shook her head. 'But he said if I did this, and he was in charge, he'd release all the slaves. Which means I could find her.' Kikyou thought hopefully. 'But…how do I find her…if I don't remember who she is?'

0o0o0o0

By now, everyone at the hotel had calmed down and they were all in the larger suite watching television. This event was rather odd. They were usually out searching for others with spiritual powers. Lately, they hadn't found any though. Aside from Kaede, who was always busy with her ice cream stand, they had come up empty handed.

"I wanna go home." Shippou said childishly.

Inuyasha glared at the kitsune. "What home? You don't have one, remember?"

Shippou glared back. "Fine, then I wanna go back to _your_ home. I'm just getting tired of this place."

Sango watched the two argue back and forth for a while before breaking into their conversation. "Inuyasha, maybe it is time we leave. I mean, we came here to find more people with powers, but we haven't found any. And we're just sitting around now, so why are we still here?"

Everyone just looked at her. They knew she was right. Though it was fun being in the city, they all wanted to go back to the seclusion of the mansion.

Inuyasha stood up. "Okay then. Everyone, pack your bags, we're going home."

0o0o0o0

They were all packed and had their bags down in the lobby. Inuyasha was pacing back and forth on his cell phone arguing with Hojou. "I don't give a damn about his take out, we need a ride…! Fine! Whatever, we'll find someone else." He dialed another number and waited for an answer. "Oi, Kagura…yeah, it's me…we're at the hotel and need a ride…yeah…he's to busy getting _take out_…ya think you could…okay…thanks." He shoved the phone in his pocket and turned to the others. "There will be a limo here to pick us up soon. Hojou's to busy catering to the needs of the **Lord**. So busy in fact, that we don't really matter, because stupid Sesshoumaru needs his damn TAKE OUT!"

The others looked on at his outburst in mild surprise. Miroku chuckled, "Inuyasha, I'd say you're jealous. Do you want take out too?" This was answered with a deadly glare from the angry hanyou.

Kagome and Sango sat on their luggage and watched as Miroku and Shippou talked about what they wanted for dinner when they arrived home. The younger girl fidgeted with the ring on her finger. Sango took notice of this and looked at her friend sadly. "Do you miss her? Your sister I mean." Kagome looked at her friend with a surprised expression. "Yeah…I guess I do. It's been so long, though. I hardly remember her. I only remember when they took her away from me."

Sango smiled a bit. "You cried for days on end. I remember because I tried so hard to make you laugh again. It took me forever, too!" Kagome grinned. "Yeah, I know. I'm so lucky to have a friend like you, Sango." The older girl smiled kindly. "Hmm…I wonder what she's doing right now. Do you ever wonder if she remembers us? I can't even remember her name. Isn't that pathetic?"

Kagome looked off in the same direction that Sango was staring. "I don't know if she remembers us. She's probably forgotten by now." She looked back down at her ring. 'She's probably forgotten that promise too.'

The black limo finally pulled up and the man stepped out to retrieve their luggage. The all rode home in silence, just wanting to get back.

0o0o0o0

When they arrived at the mansion, Hojou was still out running errands. The house was quiet as usual. They assumed Sesshoumaru was in the library as he often was, if he was home at all. They all sat in the kitchen as Miroku cooked up some food. Kouga looked out the window at his old house.

"I can't believe that witch killed me. After all those years…I remember when my family first got her. We were about the same age. She wouldn't talk for weeks. Always going on about her old house, and how she missed her 'baby sister.' She did it for a long time. Even after my parents died, and we were older."

Shippou chimed in. "I remember. I came to live with you and she always told Rin and me stories about when she was a kid. She was so happy when she told them too. She talked about her old master and her little sister. Then, one day…she stopped telling those stories. In fact, she never mentioned her sister again."

"It's like she forgot. Like she just forgot it all. That's when she started being…cold to us." Rin said sadly.

Kouga thought it over for a minute. "Actually, it was right after our first meeting with Naraku when she stared acting that way. I hate that man. He's the one in charge of **my** companies! He was always after anything I owned! I bet that bastard paid her off! He paid her to kill me!" Kouga jumped up from the table because of his enthusiasm.

"Oh, what a smart wolf you are, my dear Kouga." A silky voice laced the air. None of them had even noticed her standing in the doorway. "Naraku told me there wouldn't be any distractions. I guess he wasn't counting on you all coming home. Coming home…Kouga, please tell me…why are you even alive? I thought I killed you."

"Kikyou? Wench, you **did** kill me!" Kouga yelled at the miko, who remained unmoved.

"I thought I did…Oh, I understand. The council's after me, are they? Funny, you'd think they would send someone intelligent. Guess the smart members have better things to do." She waved the thought away and stepped in the doorway.

Everyone else took a step back. Kagome tripped over a stool and fell on the floor. Kikyou turned her attention to the girl on the floor. "Kagome…wasn't that your name?" The younger just nodded in response. "Why won't you help me? You're strong; I can feel your energy rippling as we speak. Don't you want to be free?"

"Of course I do. But I'm not gonna kill someone to get my freedom. Why…why are you doing this, Kikyou?" Kagome asked. She searched Kikyou's chocolate eyes for an answer, but they were too deep.

"I made a promise." Kikyou answered. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get rid of Sesshoumaru. It's the only way…I can help her." She turned to leave.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Help who?" Kikyou stopped in the doorway and turned to him. "I don't know, but I promised her I'd get her out of this life, and I won't let anyone stand in my way! Naraku said that if he was the Lord, he'd let all the slaves free!"

"But, Kikyou…" Sango started, "you don't even know who it is you're looking for?"

Kikyou looked hurt. "I used to. I used to see her face…all the time. She was just a child, and so happy. Then…I just…forgot. Just recently, these images of her are starting to come back…and I won't know who she is until I get this done."

Kagome stood up and looked at Kikyou with a broken expression. "You're…a good person." She added a smile to assure Kikyou. The elder girl looked at her. "What?" She asked. "I'm here to kill your master and you're calling me a good person? How's that good!?"

"You're keeping your promise. Someone…someone made me a promise, a long time ago they did. They promised they'd come back and find me…they promised they'd save me…but here I am…still a slave. I figured I'd find my own way out. You know that killing Sesshoumaru is wrong, yet you're doing it. Isn't there another way to keep your promise?"

Kikyou looked at the ground before looked back to Kagome. "This…killing him…was the only option I was given." She turned to leave again.

"Wait!" Kagome yelled, leaping forward. As her luck would have it, though, she tripped again on the same stool she fell over earlier. She hit the ground with a thud, and the silver ring she always wore slipped off her finger. "Oh no! My ring!" Kagome gasped as she stretched her hand out to grab for it.

The silver band spun across the floor and finally stopped after hitting Kikyou's foot. The woman looked down at it. Something about it caught her attention. She leaned down and picked it up, examining it. "Where…where did you get this?" She asked, completely forgetting the task at hand.

Kagome pushed herself into a sitting position. "My sister…my older sister gave it to me years ago. When I was just a little girl. Please give it back! I promised her when I saw her again I'd return it!" The young girl was near tears.

Kouga glanced between the two girls. He noticed once before how similar they were, but now that they were so close, the resemblance was somewhat frightening. He started to piece the things together. Somehow, it all made sense. Two sisters separated as children: it happened to them both, two girls that have made promise and wish to fulfill them: that also happened to the two of them, they shared the same power, and they looked alike.

"Kagome," the wolf youkai started, "I think…you just did…return the ring to your…sister." Everyone looked at him as if he were crazy.

Kagome broke that odd silence. "I guess that would make sense." She looked over to her recently found sister, and Kikyou nodded, letting out a slight smile.

Kouga sighed deeply and closed his eyes to think a moment. "Kikyou," he opened his piercing eyes to look at her, "are you working with Naraku?" The woman looked at him suspiciously, then nodded. "I think I know why you can't remember anything. He has this power, okay, and he's capable of erasing someone's memories and just brings them back whenever he pleases. So I think he erased your memory to get you to do his dirty work." It's odd how the seemingly stupid wolf hit it right on the spot. "Every so often, if images of your past began to resurface, he's just shove 'em back down again."

Kikyou stared at the wolf yokai in disbelief. "But…but he promised…"

Inuyasha scoffed. "No, that freak just lied to you."

Miroku stood up, finally putting a few words in. "So, Kikyou, Naraku is planning on killing Sesshoumaru, correct?" Kikyou nodded. "Yes. He has this idea etched in his head that if he takes over a majority of the companies and kills the lord, that he will be put in charge."

"That probably would happen…" Miroku thought about it, trying to come up with a plan.

"Ya know," Sango started, "he's going to find a way to get rid of Sesshoumaru, whether or not you help him." She directed at Kikyou. "If you join us, we can work together to bring him down."

A new voice from the door startled them all. "Bring **who** down?"

0o0o0o0

Oh, don't you just love cliffies? I do! Actually, I just need to find out who it is that's standing at the door…it could be Sesshoumaru, or Naraku. Either way, I know how it's going to end. I could put in a lot more humor if it were Sesshoumaru, or I could stick in drama if it were Naraku. So, you tell me! Now for thank yous.

**DramaqueenABZ:** You are like, the best reviewer ever. Thanks again for the review!

**RavenC:** Thank you so much for all of the reviews…you sent a lot! LoL!

Okay, hope you all were happy with this chapter. I'll try to update as soon as I can. There isn't much further to go. I think I can finish it up with one or two more chapters. Thanks again, everyone, and remember to review for me!

Kae-sama


	19. Naraku Falls

1Disclaimer: I hate having to remember to put this up all the time...Me No Own. Got it?

Okay, we got a new computer, so hopefully I can type this up with no interruptions. Unfortunately, my mom won't let me use it with the Internet yet, since that's what screwed up the one I use all the time…but I can use it for word processing, so that's a good thing!

I'm so sorry it's taking me so long to update. School is such a pain, and I've had so many things to make up since I was sick recently and missed a day. Only one day, but German and Biology aren't exactly the easiest subjects to catch up it. Then there's homework, and we all know what a mess that is, don't we? Thanks to this 3-day weekend I'm able to update! So here's chapter 19 (finally).

**Chapter 19: Naraku Falls**

"Bring **who** down?" A cold voice coming from the doorway caught the attention of everyone in the room. Naraku's cold, snake-like smile curved even more when he saw their surprised expressions. "Oh, come now. Did you think I'd miss out on an opportunity to see you all at your end?" He leaned in the doorway, that cocky smile still painted on his face. "Kikyou, I thought I could trust you to get the job done. You're quite a disappointment you know." He said, a false sadness lining his words.

The older miko looked at the despicable demon (technically, hanyou; but demon makes him sound more evil, don't you agree?) with a tainted expression. "You sick bastard." She said coldly, clenching her fists at her side, resisting the urge to just strangle him there and now. She knew that if she did, though, that would only cause more problems for Kagome and the others. She had finally been reunited with her sister after all these years of waiting, and she wasn't going to let that filthy snake, Naraku, get in the way of her happiness. "I trusted you as well! You betrayed me, and lied to me…you…erased my memories!" She screamed; confused emotions bleeding into the words and cracking through as the anguish and pain finally found its way out. "You knew all along Kagome was my sister, and yet you tried to have me kill her! You promised you'd help me find her, I didn't expect this to be part of the plan!"

The man (demon, hanyou…you get the picture) in the doorway shook a finger at the angered woman. "Tsk, tsk, now. I did help you find her, didn't I? She's right there in front of you. You can't deny that." Naraku shifted his foot and crossed his arms. "You're the one that detests demons and wanted them all gone. I could've helped you, but I guess now that you've discovered that I'm a liar…I guess I'll have to kill you as well. I can't have it getting out I'm not an honest businessman. Hehe. I was hoping to do this without you finding out, but I guess that silly girl had to screw up somewhere." He glanced at Kagome who shivered when his cold eyes caught her in them.

Kikyou stepped in between his stare and her sister, not liking the look in his blood-red eyes. "That 'silly girl' is my little sister, and you won't lay a finger on her, Naraku. Now that my memory is starting to come back, I understand everything. You're so filthy…Erasing my memory to do your low work for you…" Her jaw set and her eyes bore into him, letting him know he wasn't going to get by easily.

Naraku's grin grew to the point were it was shockingly similar to that of the Cheshire cat's. "Correction: I didn't erase your memory, I just suppressed it. That's why your memory is able to come back to you. If I erased it, I wouldn't have to worry about any of this happening."

Inuyasha stepped forward. "Does it matter how you got her do kill flea-bag and come after us? The fact is you've got some nerve, and someone needs to teach you a lesson! No one need creeps like you crawling around this place." His amber eyes gleamed with intense excitement as he flexed his fingers, every joint cracking when he did so. "I'll take that gloating look off your face and shove it down your throat." He threatened. His pulse quickened at his sudden urge to carry out those words right that minute.

Naraku laughed. "You…I don't think you could shove anything down my throat if your life depended on it…which…it does." He cocked his head to the side and smiled (he has the creepiest smile).

A slow rumble started in Inuyasha's chest as he tried to suppress the rising anger he felt coming. His muscles tensed and he was ready to jump on that stupid freak of nature in front of him. "Would you prefer it up your-…"

BAM…! THUD…!

The people in the kitchen watched as Naraku's body fell to the floor. Inuyasha stared, perplexed at him for a moment before raising his eyes toward the door.

"Do you mind keeping it down, I'm trying to read in the library and I can hear you all the way up there." Sesshoumaru looked at all the people in the room. They gawked at him, surprised by his cool demeanor. He looked at the floor where Naraku lay unconscious. For once, he was very confused. "Why is **he** sullying my kitchen floor?" He looked around the room for an answer, and noticed Kikyou in the room. "Aren't you the one every demon is after for killing Kouga?" The woman nodded slowly. "Hmph. Well, I'd say you're on the right track this time." He turned on his heals and let the door slam behind him as he made his way back to the library to continue his reading. Everyone in the room was silent.

Finally, Sango did a recap. "Okay, so…Naraku comes in here planning to kill us all…right?"

"Right." Miroku answered, massaging his temple.

"So, he's acting all cocky and arguing with Kikyou when Inuyasha interrupts and threatens to shove things places…"

"Correct." The monk said as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Then, Sesshoumaru comes in to tell us to be quiet, but when he opens the door, he does it with such force it knocks Naraku out cold…"

"Uh-huh." Miroku mumbled from the refrigerator he was rummaging through.

"He thought it was Kikyou that did it, since she's wanted for killing demons, and then left." She finally finished.

"Yep." He popped open a coke can and gulped about half of it down before saying, "and that leaves us here with an unconscious Naraku. Who wants to call the authorities?"

No one offered.

"I can't…I'm dead, remember?" Kouga said, getting himself out of it.

"I'm wanted…it's probably not a good idea." Kikyou mused.

"I'm a kid!" Shippou chirped.

"I gotta pee…" Rin whispered.

"I'll take you!" Sango offered.

"I'm…drinking…?" Miroku said, desperate for an excuse, shrugging as he drank some more to prove his point.

Kagome and Inuyasha looked at each other, silently relaying a message to each other between the stare. "This is going to take more than one person to explain it all…and I don't want to do it alone." Kagome's eyes pleaded with Inuyasha to go with her.

Inuyasha sighed as he caved in to her puppy dog eyes. "Fine, I'll go with you. But when they get here, it's going to take all of us to do the explaining." He looked around at all the people (the ones left at least) in the room. "This…is not going to be easy."

Kouga walked up to Kagome and grabbed her hand in his. He looked into her eyes with the most sincere expression that had ever crossed his face; a slight sadness lingered on it as well. "Kagome," he sighed, "I have to leave now. The Council needs me back up there." He motioned his head toward the ceiling (it would've been the sky if the roof wasn't there..hehe) He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her and said, "If you ever need me, just call my name, I'll…"

"Be there in a hurry, ya don't have to worry…" Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes at the wolf's sappy lines as he jerked them apart. "Just get off her!" He growled low enough for Kouga to hear alone.

"Cause baby, there ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you babe…" Miroku finished the lyrics the others failed to as they stared at him in amusement. He danced over to the trash can and threw his empty can in. He turned around to meet their bemused expressions and grinned. "Someone had to do it." (I know anyone that knows those lyrics was itching for someone to break out in song…or maybe it was just me, but it was fun)

0o0o0o0

The neko youkai that came to the scene was very confused by the time everyone had explained what happened. He looked at the hanyou (Naraku-I got it right this time) on the kitchen floor, somewhat afraid because he knew there'd be trouble if he woke up.

Naraku was very powerful, not just when it came to business, but in physical strength as well. He wasn't someone whose bad side you wanted to be on. The neko officer had dealt with some of Naraku's minions before, and didn't really want to deal with the main source of havoc.

"So," the officer started, trying to gather all the information in his head, "this is all some major misunderstanding concerning Miss Kikyou, correct?"

"Yea, this nut-case is some trickster." Inuyasha snorted. The urges to just thwack his head off still coursing through his veins. Kagome noticed his tense aura and set a hand on his arm. He looked at her, who, in return, gave him a gentle smile. "Calm down, okay?" She whispered. He hesitated before nodding his head.

Sesshoumaru caught this action between the two youths (he's in the room now…seeing as he **is** part of it). The lord looked at the officer whose attention was focused on the _thing_ on the floor. "You," his icy words made the neko youkai jump. "Just take that trash in, and drop everything else. He was conspiring to kill me and is responsible for the murder of Kouga. He used magic and tricks to have Kikyou act on his wishes. That's all you need to know. If anyone has any questions, tell them to contact me, and me alone." The officer just nodded.

Sesshoumaru knew no one would ask questions if he had anything to do with it. He would find a way to get Kikyou out of trouble, seeing as she was Kagome's sister, and did seem sorry for what she did. If it were Naraku that had murdered Kouga, this wouldn't be such a big deal. It's just the fact that it was a human that has everyone so uptight about it.

For years now youkai had used humans as their servants. Never had there been an outburst like this. For the first time, Sesshoumaru began questioning whether or not it was right. He wasn't the largest fan of humans, but looking at the few that resided under his roof, his heart had softened a bit due to them. Somehow, they had grown on him. Of course, he would never admit that to anyone unless he was planning to kill them, even then his pride would probably override that decision.

He watched as Shippou perched himself on Kagome's shoulder and Rin and Sango played some hand game. Inuyasha and Miroku were arguing about something and Hojou and Kikyou watched on in amusement. This was his home, but somehow, it didn't feel right. He knew they were smiling, but deep down they had to feel chained. He frowned a bit and mused on this thought.

"I'll be back later, don't bother to make me a meal, Miroku." The lord said as he turned on his heals.

Miroku turned his head toward Sesshoumaru's receding figure. "Got ya!" He yelled after him.

Sesshoumaru had a plan. A plan that wouldn't be easy to pull off. There was only one person who could help him decipher the thoughts in his head. He jerked out his cell and dialed a number. "Kagura?" The woman on the other end mumbled something about calling at late hours and asked him where he was. "Never mind that, we have some serious work to do…get me a ride…no, I have Hojou doing something else at the moment. Thanks." He hung up and went to the library to grab a few needed books before making his way downstairs to wait for his ride. This was going to be a long night.

0o0o0o0

DramaQueenABZ: Thank you so much for reviewing again. One more chapter to go bud!

Windgal: Yes, cliffies burn...but ya gotta love em!

RavenC: Oh, don't worry about all the reviews, I love them! You guys just don't know how happy they make me. Reviews make writing worth it all!

Okay folks, you know the drill. Leave a review, please! They make me so happy, and give me more of a reason to write!

Till next chapter, which will be the last, hopefully...Kae-sama


	20. Merging of Worlds

Disclaimer: I own a headache...but no Inu-kun or the others.

Wow. It has been forever, hasn't it? Like, a few months..try a lot of months. I feel horrible about it, really. But this was the hardest chapter to pull together in a reasonably organized manner. I had the worst case of writer's block and a lot of things going on in my life. So I'm sorry that it's been so long. But I thank all of my readers that have been waiting for this chapter to come out sooo much. I love you all!

Chapter 20 - Merging of Worlds

0o0o0o0

Sesshoumaru did a lot of work that night. He and Kagura contacted a lot of people in high places, did a lot of research and backed up a lot of arguments most would die for if they were in his place. Human rights weren't something most demons would vouch for. After seeing the courage and friendship between everyone in his household, though, Sesshoumaru was disgusted to the point of taking their side (we all know he really has a soft spot for humans, though). Thanks to him, slowly, humans gained their rights back. Over a year's period, they had equal rights, the same as all the demons. Within that period, hanyous were slowly accepted as well. There were still demons that didn't like humans, but they had grown accustom to the fact that they had to deal with them every day. These new laws brought a new light upon the mansion of the Western Lord.

0o0o0o0

"Lord Sesshoumaru, when are we going to the park?" Rin's bright brown eyes popped up at the edge of the inu-youkai's paper. She hopped from foot to foot in anticipation, waiting for him to answer. The kitchen door swung open and Rin turned her attention to Kagura, who had just walked in; cell phone in hand.

"Jaken, you idiot! I said to hold the conference...Are you really so stupid you can't decipher a fu–" Her conversation halted when the little girl pulled on her forest green skirt. Her eyes flinted down to the girl. "Yes, Rin?"

"Can you take me to the park? Lord Sesshoumaru isn't talking again...is he okay?" The child asked. Kagura's lips were graced with a rare smile. "Sure, I'll go." She pressed a button on her cell phone and set it on the table. A strange youkai in her office was having a panic attack, not knowing what to do with the members of the committee that weren't supposed to be there.

Kagura let the little girl grab her hand and explained that Sesshoumaru had moods that he got into sometimes, as the two walked out the door. Sesshoumaru watched as the two most important people in his life walked on, chatting as if it were always this normal. Never in his life would he have imagined feeling this way about a human. A little, innocent human child, so pure that he couldn't help but feel a bit affectionate. And then there was Kagura. Throughout all their differences, they found a way to come to a mutual affection. Which, over the course of time, grew to a greater degree.

Sometimes people would talk about the odd "family." Not to their face of course, but they all heard it. Sesshoumaru and Kagura was a couple others never would have fathomed in a million years. Then there was that human child of all things. Passer byers always commented on what a wonderfully strong youkai child they could have had, but instead they take that..imp..in under their wings.

But the oddest couple of all was that hanyou brother of his and his significant other. People noticed Inuyasha enough as it was. Those ears and silver hair made him noticeable miles away. But that human girl that was with him drew more attention to the duo. Kagome was beautiful. Even demons admitted that. Even so, they would have thought that a son of the great lord would chose someone more sufficient. Inuyasha always snorted when people commented on Kagome. She was wonderful. He knew it, but the chances of him ever admitting that in public just to show them up was rather slim. But what really amused people was when that red-haired fox child tagged along with them. Now, that was a sight. Usually the little guy perched on Kagome's shoulder and avoided swings dealt from Inuyasha. Other times, he was running around Kagome's feet, begging for her attention, which she willing gave with the kindest smile.

Sango and Miroku were the first to make their relationship known. Shortly after human rights were activated and marriage was allowed, the two lovebirds were engaged. They received the least bit of attention, because they were the most "normal" couple, and could easily blend in with a crowd when the group went out. Sometimes, though, they would recede in to a huddle of people if Kagome and Inuyasha got in to an argument, which was very often.

Surprisingly, youkai acquired to the new laws seemingly quickly. A few of the older youkai who had lived with the laws of slavery their whole lives were a bit upset, and didn't like that they had to pay the humans for their services. Eventually, a vast majority of them changed though. There were still those that didn't like humans. Those were the lower ones that were constantly harassing humans. They were the same ones that were arrested and charged for their actions.

Humanity is wicked in the way that people just don't like those that are different from them. It's a sick reality. After a while, youkai began to realize that even though the humans were different from them, it didn't make them any less important. They were living things as well. They deserved freedom just as much as the next. Which raises the question as to why such a thing was ever initiated to begin with?

After much history research, Sesshoumaru and Kagura found an answer. It's the same thing that lies at the base of every nation and every youkai and human heart alike. The desire for power has been the cause of many events that could have been prevented had more open-minded people been in charge during the day of human enslavement under youkai. Power is a disease that, once caught, is hard to cure completely. The person that has the disease must give in, and admit that they've gone too far. Either that, or it must be taken by force, usually resulting in an ugly resolution.

As years passed, people changed and the two mixed, and standing next to a hanyou in line for your burger was quite common. Half the time, that hanyou would be your friend that you just got out of school with, and you decided you'd both stop for some food and talk about the latest gossip.

Kagome and Inuyasha had a beautiful daughter who didn't have to face the same horror that her father faced in school or that her mother faced at the factories. Her best friend was Sango and Miroku's son. Rin, a popular girl in her high school now, was usually the babysitter of the two children. The families all lived close to each other in the same neighborhood. Along with many other youkai, humans, and hanyou. Sure, there was still a youkai or some punk kid that showed their dislike for the other, but usually things remained relatively calm and peaceful.

Every once in a while, Kikyou would come by to visit her sister and the rest of the gang. She was ever-grateful to Sesshoumaru and the rest of them who worked so hard to free the humans. Sometimes, she and Kagome would sit on the back deck after everyone else had gone to bed. The two sisters would reminisce on the past and what had happened. They realized that they were the revolutionary generation. They were the ones that had lived through that hell and survived. They lived through the terror of not knowing if your life would end because of a simple mistake, or if you had just looked at a youkai the wrong way. Kagome still has nightmares about being separated from her sister that day. She still twists the ring around her finger that her sister let her keep. Sometimes, when she doesn't notice, Kikyou will look at her with a look only a loving sister can give, grateful that she's sitting beside her baby sister. She remembers the day she didn't know if her sister was still alive. She didn't think she'd ever find her, and here she was, sitting next to her joking about something stupid Inuyasha had said at dinner (that shouldn't be a great surprise to anyone).

The world kept turning. Life grew more bearable between youkai and humans than ever before. It grew to a point where there wasn't much of a difference. Not that anyone cared anyway. Differences faded to a thing of the past, and was something children only read about in history books anymore. The past remained exactly where it should: in the past.

And they all lived happily ever after (I've always wanted to say that).

0o0o0o0

Yes, that's the end of it. I didn't want to get into all the itty gritty details of everything. I don't think there's much of a need to. Trust me, I worked it all out and everything, but then this would have gotten too legal for everyone to keep interest.

I wrote this story with a valid point in mind, and I hope that people realized it by the end. See, I live in the south, and still today there is segregation. People segregate themselves, though, and I think it's quite sad. I am lucky that I am one of the people that have many friends of different races, religions and cultures. But sometimes I see people that don't like someone else just because they're different from them. Things like that really piss me off, because they don't even take the time to get to know the person. There have been times also, where they've said something about a friend of mine and made a crude remark. It really hurts, because the people they insult are usually great people. I don't think there's a need for this at all. I know our parents and our grandparents were part of a totally different generation. I can only hope that we change that, and that people can set the past aside and move toward the future. I don't want my child to grow up in a world where he/she has to see this like I do. I know it's not as evident as it was in the past, but it's still there a bit. People need to grow up and be more mature. If my friends and I can set aside our differences, why should it be so hard for the rest of the world? I know that it seems like a lot to ask of a lot of people, but it's really not asking much when you think about it. Why can't we all live by that lesson they taught us in kindergarten? Just..be nice to everyone. I saw this poster once in my sister's school. It said, "Don't see a person in color, see them with your heart." And that's so 1st grade, but it's also so true. I know one little fanfic won't change the opinion of the whole world. I don't want to make a huge impact and I don't expect it to. Just hopefully, just maybe I can let my readers see where I'm coming from. I'm not out to change anyone's minds or their ways, only you yourself can do that. But sometimes I wish people would look at things with a different eye. That same eye they looked at things as a child. When race, religion, and culture didn't matter because that person next to you was a new friend with whom you'd always share your Crayola crayons, when it didn't matter what name brand you wore because everyone wore the same thing from Wal-Mart or JC Penny, when no one cared about how their hair looked because you were young so it was going to be sloppy and messy. I don't want anyone to insult me for my views, because I am entitled to my own opinion. I am just a simple authoress who wants people to enjoy her story. With that said, everyone, have a wonderful day/week/month/year.

Make sure to look for my next fic, because I should be starting it pretty soon. Just keep your eye out for the one and only Kae-sama!

I would also like to thank all of my readers for their reviews and for the everlasting purpose to continue this. I'm going to have this in the best order that I can..starting from the first chapter

Kawaii Rin

Eden

RavenC

Prepare For I Am the Sugar Kitten

DramaQueenABZ

sapphire-glass

queenie

Ashley

Kylria

windgal

e

April

I would especially like to thank DramaQueenABZ, because she has been my most active reviewer, and has given me many tips that were very useful. And she's stuck this whole fic out with me the whole time, so I commend her on that. Hopefully, she'll read my next fic and like it just as much..lol..along with the rest of you. I would greatly appreciate it!

Much love to all! Kae-sama


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